Secretly Selfish motivations (or accusations thereof) in Anime and Manga.
- In Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, all of the former members of the Super Peace Busters are forced to acknowledge their selfish ulterior motives in the final episode, when their attempt to fulfill their dead friend Menma's wish by launching a fireworks rocket doesn't allow her to pass on to the afterlife. While Yukiatsu had always been shown to have an unhealthy obsession with Menma, especially when he crossdressed as her, Jintan realizes after the rocket launches that he didn't actually want Menma (whom only he could see and hear) to pass on. Anaru, however, wanted that to happen so that she could finally get together with Jintan (whom both she and Menma liked), while Tsuruko wanted Menma to move on and Anaru to hook up with Jintan in order to get together with Yukiatsu. Even Poppo admits that his efforts to help Menma find peace were largely so he could get over the trauma of having seen her drown in the river, and not being able to save her. After a rather emotional conversation, the Super Peace Busters come to terms with their issues, and are ultimately able to help Menma move on once she realizes her true wish.
- Erwin Smith in Attack on Titan is a brilliant and dedicated commander of the Survey Corps that does anything in order to save humanity, even it means sacrificing hundreds of lives and using his soldiers as Cannon Fodder for the greater good. In reality all the deaths and sacrifices he made was for his own personal goal of finding out for certain if humanity is extinct outside the walls, not just for humanity's sake, but to prove that his father (who "was disappeared" by the Secret Police) was right. This leads to his own Heel Realization and his trying to redeem himself by leading a suicide charge against the Beast Titan.
- The lead couple of Ayakashi Triangle both take actions they say and believe are totally in the other's interest, but have more self-serving aspects beneath the surface:
- Matsuri has made his life practically revolve around Suzu's wellbeing, and is so self-sacrificing he thinks himself unworthy of her affection, and that Suzu's love life is none of his business. In reality, Matsuri is constantly trying to appear strong before Suzu to impress her, and when Soga and Suzu meet for lunch, Matsuri takes desperate, embarrassing measures to spy on them. When Suzu starts taking advantage of the spiritual power that endangers her, Matsuri isn't glad she's gaining the power to protect herself, but worried he won't be able to keep doing so himself and be left behind.
- Suzu insists Matsuri keep Shirogane alive, even if it will endanger her, because she feels responsible for Matsuri getting turned into a girl, which only Shirogane can reverse. However, an issue she keeps to herself is that she's uncomfortable still being attracted to Matsuri in his current form. Working to turn Matsuri male again lets her avoid questioning her own sexuality. Suzu even dreads the idea of Matsuri wanting to be a girl.
- In Code Geass, Suzaku Kururugi is initially introduced as the stereotypical Honor Before Reason, Hot-Blooded, Ace Pilot. He’s also a soldier for an oppressive Social Darwinist Empire, who has conquered his homeland and reduced his race to second-class citizens, but he hopes to gain enough status and power to peacefully change the system from within, because it’s the right way to do things. Part way through the first season he’s confronted by the mind-reading Mao, who reveals that Suzaku killed his father as a child, and all his heroic acts and moralizing is just to cover the fact he wants to die as atonement.
- Light Yagami of Death Note is utterly convinced that his methods of killing any and all criminals, are just and even heroic. After just five days of using the death note, Light becomes convinced that he's a literal god who wants to create a perfect world, free from whatever he perceives as evil. Donning the alias Kira, Light kills criminals on mass and lowers world crime rates by 70%. While many In-Universe side with Kira and even view him as a savior, everyone outside of his cult acknowledges him for what he truly is. A Psychopathic Manchild with an unrealistic sense of justice, who only wants to be worshipped. Proving this point is when Light decides to kill a supposedly innocent person just for calling him evil.
- Kariya Matou in Fate/Zero presents himself as a guy who just wants to save unfortunate little girl Sakura from a horrible fate—but as it turns out, he's been in love with Sakura's mother since childhood, and Did Not Get the Girl. While his motives are altruistic and he suffers greatly for them, and he knows that he'd never be able to enjoy the fruits of his labors even if he did manage to save her (as his powers are Cast From Life Span), deep down, he always has that fantasy in the back of his mind that when he saves Sakura, her mother will be so grateful that she divorces her jerk of a husband and hooks up with him again, and then Sakura and her sister will be his daughters for real. When said mother rejects him at the end of a Trauma Conga Line, he snaps and attempts to strangle her in a fit of rage.
- In Fruits Basket, while Tohru is genuinely an All-Loving Heroine who cares about all the cursed Sohmas, learning that Kyo will be put in solitary confinement once he graduates from high school eventually makes her realize that of all the Sohmas, Kyo is the one she cares about the most, and she comes to prioritize freeing him from the Zodiac curse over all the others. She's not exactly happy with herself about this, especially when she admits that she wouldn't mind if only Kyo was freed. Even then, she realizes that her desire to free Kyo is less about unburdening him from a difficult curse and more that she doesn't want to be separated from him.
- Reki from Haibane Renmei seems to be a kind Team Mom however it turns out she's this way for selfish reasons. She wants to break out of her Circle of Sin and be able to have her Day of Flight. Despite this, she does end up truthfully becoming nice (even if she's in denial).
- My Hero Academia: This trope pops up a couple of times with Iida Tenya. Though he tries to be an upright and moral person, particularly after he's made into Class Rep, there have been several incidents where Iida puts himself and his own goals above others:
- When Uraraka was stuck under a robot during the Entrance Exam, Iida noticed that she'd gotten trapped but chose to continue fighting robots anyway and leaving her behind because he needed more points to win a place in UA, whereas Midoriya immediately tried to help her even though he was way behind everybody else and hadn't earned any points for destroying the enemy robots. (He was unaware at the time that he could earn rescue points for saving Uraraka). Later, Iida commends Midoriya for this and berates himself for his selfishness.
- During the Sports Tournament Arc, after Midoriya manages to come in first during the obstacle course, he then finds out that was actually a bad idea, as with all the points he earned made him a huge target for the other contestants. When he looks for teammates for the Cavalry Battle, Uraraka immediately says she'll support Midoriya, but Iida doesn't, saying that at the moment, Midoriya is his rival first, friend second, and joins Todoroki's team instead. This actually bites him in the ass, since during his fight with Todoroki during the Tournament, Todoroki remembers that his ice can jam the engines on Iida's legs and cripples his ability to run, thus easily taking him out of the battle. Interestingly enough, Uraraka believes that she's the secretly selfish one despite having chosen to stand by Midoriya, as she believes that she was using her friendship with him to get ahead and that Iida was right to think of Midoriya as a rival. As a result, she declines Midoriya's offer to give her advice on how to defeat Bakugo and ultimately loses to him.
- During the Stain Arc, Hero-Killer Stain nearly kills Iida's older brother Tensei, crippling him and forcing him to retire as a Pro and leaves the identity of Ingenium to his brother. Iida is so enraged that he goes after Stain by himself, and during their confrontation, he totally ignores the wounded hero that Stain was about to kill. Stain, of all people, calls him out on this.
- This is also something that is strongly implied to be a big issue in the heroics industry, where people outwardly play the part of a hero, but ultimately are only there for their own interests. One of the top ten heroes prior to the fall of Hero Society, Yoroi Musha, is a prime example of this, having being in the heroics industry for decades for the sake of fame and adulation. Upon having to deal with an extremely hostile society who has lost their faith in heroism, Yoroi Musha only ends up making things worse by choosing to retire out of cowardice, something made more evident when the more openly selfish Mt. Lady sticks around and shows herself as a decent person at heart who truly embodies heroism.
- Yue Ayase of Negima! Magister Negi Magi wholeheartedly supports her best friend Nodoka's feelings for the lead character, Negi. However, she soon starts to develop feelings for him and tries to suppress them for the sake of her best friend. Negi and Yue have a conversation about what to say to Nodoka after she confessed to Negi. Yue tells Negi to wait until graduation to give her a proper reply (seeing as he is their teacher), and she ends up feeling relieved that Negi doesn't like anyone yet... and is suitably horrified at how selfish she is. This comes to a head later when Nodoka finds out about Yue's feelings, and the two resolve to pursue Negi while cheering on the other. Of course, Nodoka would be just as happy in a threesome...
- Played very darkly in Neon Genesis Evangelion.
- The heroes of the story are trying to protect humanity from the Third Impact, which would cause mass extinction. In spite of this, and in spite of their presenting themselves as grand, heroic figures, every single member of the cast (including Shinji, but that's for later) is doing this for entirely selfish and ultimately very tragic reasons: Asuka is in it for the glory since she was neglected as a child and lost her mother horribly, Misato is in it for revenge because she was at the center of the Impact itself and was traumatized, Rei has been raised specifically for this purpose and was cloned from a woman involved in this, Ritsuko is being manipulated into it by her lover Gendo and is struggling with her own self-image, and Gendo himself is only interested in using the crisis to resurrect his wife/Shinji's mother, the woman that Rei was cloned from.
- The show's protagonist, Shinji Ikari, is only of the few characters to not be secretly selfish... but only because he's up-front about his own selfishness: he knows and straight-up says that he's more interested in pleasing his father than he is about saving the world. The rest of the cast tend to look down on him and scold him for having such self-centered motivations, but at the end of the series, when all of their consciousnesses merge, Shinji is able to see that they're no better than he is.
- Ironically, one of the only members of the cast to genuinely care about the future of humanity is Kaworu, one of the Angels that the humans are trying to save humanity from.
- A common theme in Pet Shop of Horrors, as it's a series based around rather nasty moral tests along with a helping of Armor Piercing Questions. You claim to want your wife resurrected? Is that for her sake or just to absolve your own sins? You wish you'd died in your friend's place? Sounds noble, but are you just running from your own guilt? Do you really want to protect your son from your abusive ex-husband, or are you ashamed to admit that you'd rather save your own skin instead of your child if you had to make that choice? Of particular note is that characters who admit their selfishness (such as the Senator's assistant who admits that, to him, the happiness of the woman he loves is more important than the fate of the nation) fare rather well in the Count's tests, since the Count admires their honesty.
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica uses this as a plot point with its magical girls and their supposedly "selfless" wishes.
- Sayaka Miki sacrificed her peaceful life to heal her crush - who was verging on suicidal after damage to his hands looked set to end his career as a violinist. Given that his attitude towards her swung from polite indifference to ingratitude to downright violent at his lowest points, Sayaka seems to be (and considers herself) a selfless Love Martyr. She also takes pride in her desire to help those in need. Before she makes her wish, her Cool Big Sis Mami actually questions how truly selfless she is, and Sayaka's reaction is Visible Silence. Then, she makes the wish and is hit with the Awful Truth: she did want something for herself: she wanted Kyosuke's gratitude -- and subsequently his love -- and she wanted to be the heroine of her own story.
- It's hinted that many if not all magical girl wishes are made by girls who don't want to admit to themselves what they really want... making them just the right kind of wishes Kyubey needs to drive them into despair and make them witch out, as they decide that wanting something for themselves makes them terrible people. It's easy to see if one examines the wishes made by the other main magical girls: Kyouko wished for her dad to be successful in his preaching because the family was starving and she thought she'd save herself and them; Mami wished to save her life after a car accident but in her despair, she didn't extend it to her parents and deeply regrets it; Homura wished to save Madoka after she died for her, but she also can be seen as her wanting to be the one to do something so important for her... Madoka's Selfless Wish escapes this solely because she has gathered enough power and experience to not let Kyubey prey on her insecurities any longer, so she's completely honest in her intentions. That being said, an Alternative Character Interpretation of her actions suggests that she made her choice because she saw herself as worthless and/or felt indebted to Homura for trying so hard to save her.
- In Revolutionary Girl Utena, it turns out a character was invoking this trope all along, in regards to another. Rather than wanting to help and protect Anthy in the Duels, what Utena truly wanted was to be Anthy's Knight in Shining Armor so she could bolster her own ego and making Anthy relay on her, without taking Anthy's actual desires and thoughts into consideration. She only realizes this truth after finding out that Anthy was Akio's Decoy Damsel and, understandably, she's devastated. This grim revelation gives Utena the determination to truly free Anthy from both Akio and herself, rather than just White Knighting for her so she could feel good. It works since Anthy sees her sincerity, realizes Utena is truly fighting for her rather than for her own ego... so in the end, she decides "I Will Not Be a Victim" and leaves Ohtori with Chuchu to find the missing Utena, finally liberating herself from Akio and her own demons.
- Kei Asai of Sagrada Reset believes that good people are only truly good if they take no benefit from their good deeds, even personal satisfaction. This is why, in Sumire's parable about a man who helped others because he felt intense pain whenever he saw sadness, and a copy who had no will of his own but only aped what the man did, Kei feels that the latter is the only one who is a truly good person. However, this should not be taken to mean that he thinks being "truly good" in this way is a goal we should all aspire to. Indeed, despite feeling that Misora Haruki is beautiful and perfectly good because she is a real life version of the parable's "copy" — someone who is so emotionally dead that she uses an algorithm to decide her actions, and does the right thing but derives no satisfaction from it — he still works to reawaken her emotions, because he believes that it is more important for a person to be happy than to be perfectly good. In other words, he thinks it would be wrong to try to make a person truly good.
- Yuuri (and, to a lesser extent, Kurumi) of School-Live!. She believes that letting Yuki live out her delusions is the only way to keep her calm and happy. Incomer Miki, however, is quick to realise the real reason why the club hasn't called out Yuki's behaviour: Yuki's cheerfulness keeps everyone else going. In fact, when Yuki regains clarity, Yuuri falls into delusion almost immediately afterwards. Miki notes that not addressing Yuki's behaviour is actually dangerous for Yuki herself. Admittedly, Yuuri seems to have grudgingly realised her own real motivation as well, but she is incredibly reluctant to change it.
- The Summer You Were There.
- Shizuku's first apology to Ruri downplays this. Shizuku deeply regrets bullying her classmate Ruri in elementary school, to the point of having become suicidal over the guilt and her belief that she can only hurt others. At Kaori's suggestion, she writes an apology letter to Ruri and delivers it personally, since Kaori is a friend of Ruri and can arrange a meeting. Shizuku agrees to meet Ruri, mentally conceding that Ruri won't forgive her and this is "selfish" but hoping they can both move forward. After Shizuku delivers the letter and tries to apologize, Ruri asks, "What do you want from me?", thus forcing Shizuku to admit to herself that a part of her had hoped Ruri would forgive her. That being said, Shizuku tells Ruri that she only wanted to convey how she felt, and gracefully accepts it when Ruri tells Shizuku she has no desire to see her again.
- Played straighter with regards to Shizuku's bullying Ruri. Shizuku took it upon herself to help Ruri, but due to her tactless nature, ended up constantly criticizing her. She believed she was doing a good deed, but it wasn't until later that she realized she was merely stroking her own ego.
- Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun has Ameri Azezal, who normally puts others well-being before others and is a Reasonable Authority Figure, but is also deeply interested in the Shoujo Manga she has from the Human World and cannot read them. Once she meets Iruma and learns he can read them, she (literally) drags him off and forces him to read the manga to her. It is downplayed later given Iruma being such a massive doormat and his inability to say no and Ameri herself stops doing this after seeing how submissive he really is.
- Following the disbanding of Iruma's battler as a result of Kiriwo's attempt to blow up the school, Ameri has Iruma join the Student Council, after he previously declined her attempt at inviting him. However, one of her reasons for doing so was to help him get a letter of recommendation from her division, and was for his own benefit as much as it was her enjoyment. In fact, when Iruma later declined to remain after earning his recommendation, Ameri became the first person ever that Iruma directly told “no” to, and she accepted his decision with a smile.
- In Yuri is My Job!, Sumika Chibana, one of the original employees of the Liebe Girls' Academy salon where the story takes place, wants to keep the salon together and believes romantic love is inherently selfish, having witnessed her friend and fellow founding member Nene suffer heartbreak when the woman she loved abandoned her. When she meets Kanoko Mamiya, a newcomer to the salon who has an unrequited love for her best friend Hime Shiraki and loathes Hime's old friend Mitsuki Yano, Sumika tries to get Kanoko to give up on her feelings for Hime, and actually succeeds in bonding with her. However, later on in the series, it is suggested that Sumika is developing feelings for Kanoko, when she's subjected to several Armor Piercing Questions. Nene asks whether Sumika would prefer it if Kanoko was in love with Sumika instead ofHime, and if Hime could support Kanoko and Hime if they were genuinely happy together, neither of which Sumika can answer. When Kanoko asks Sumika if she invited Kanoko over to separate her from Hime, Sumika weakly tries to justify herself, but realizes that she wanted to convince Kanoko that she's better off with Sumika.
- Zekkyou Gakkyuu has the Do-Gooders club, who goes around the school doing good deeds, ranging from simple acts such as picking up the trash, to saving others from bullying. As the chapter goes on, it becomes apparent that the club members are only doing these nice things to be praised by others. In fact, they deliberately cause problems that they would later "help" fix, to further advance their accomplishments.
