It's hard not to love a classic kind-hearted, empathetic character who strives to help others. They're typically incredibly bright and would do anything to protect or help the people closest to them. Others naturally gravitate towards their cheery exteriors.

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Tragically, in the realm of anime, however, it's not uncommon for this kindness to be twisted and manipulated. In other cases, a character's empathetic and kind nature ends up being their downfall, and they're punished in the form of having to sacrifice themselves. In the worst cases, other characters within their life don't understand the meaning behind their kind acts and end up shunning them as a result.

10 Kyoko Becomes A Magical Girl For Her Father, & He Hates Her For It (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

kyoko telling her family story madoka magica

Kyoko Sakura makes a contract with Kyubey in Puella Magi Madoka Magica in order to get people to listen to her father's preachings, successfully landing him a dedicated following. For the first time since they can remember, there's plenty of food on the table and the family seems happy.

This all changes when Kyoko tracks down a witch to her father's church and gets walked in on by him right as she takes it down. After realizing that she used a magic wish to "corrupt" the minds of the people into listening to him, he brands her as a witch and ends up taking the lives of her entire family, leaving her alone to fend for herself.

9 Hughes Only Ever Wants To Help Others & Ends Up Taken Out Because Of It (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

hughes meeting alphonse fullmetal alchemist

Maes Hughes is known somewhat infamously by those close to him for having far too big of a heart and sticking his nose into trouble when he's really better off steering clear of it entirely. This is exactly what happens in his relationship with the Elric brothers as they confide in him and he wants to help them however he can.

He's able to piece together a part of the awful tragedies that the military has been orchestrating, but as soon as he does, he's targeted by the homunculi for knowing too much. His death is also by far the cruelest to be shown on-screen.

8 Deku Wishes Only To Be A Hero & Help Others, But Life Kicks Him Down At Every Turn (My Hero Academia)

deku grumpy from my hero academia

Deku ends up with incredible power and his life changes for the better. However, when viewers are first introduced to him, he's at arguably the lowest point in his life.

He's a brave and kindhearted person who looks up to All Might, the number-one hero, and wants to be just like him. He's born without the Quirk necessary to make this happen, however, and he's constantly bullied by his peers for being courageous enough to try to chase after his dreams regardless.

7 Ino Protects Sakura & Helps Grow Her Self-Confidence But Is Then Abandoned Over A Boy (Naruto)

ino slight smile from naruto

When Sakura is still quite young, she's often teased by the other girls for both her appearance and her overall lack of self-confidence regarding it. Not only does Ino from Naruto discourage the bullies from messing with her, but she helps change up Sakura's hairstyle in a way that helps her come across as less shy.

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She's a beacon of emotional support for the other when she needs it, although she does get a bit jealous when she first realizes that Sakura may have feelings for Sasuke. When it's confirmed by her, Sakura also tells Ino that they can no longer be friends and are instead simply rivals for Sasuke's affection, leaving Ino understandably hurt.

6 Trisha Understands Her Husband's Inner Turmoil & Lets Him Leave Only To Pass Away Waiting (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood)

trisha elrics smile from fullmetal alchemist

Trisha Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the kindest, most patient and understanding characters in the entire series. Not only does she accept Hohenheim as he is after finding out about his tragic past, but she trusts him enough to allow him to leave and even promises that she'll still be right there waiting when he gets back.

She does her best as a now-single mother of two to keep Ed and Al nurtured and cared for as well as not be overly upset at their father's abandonment. She has full faith in her husband, but she also has a horrible illness that claims her life one day while rinsing vegetables for that night's dinner.

5 Tsubaki Is Empathetic & Accommodating, & Her Brother Resents Her For It (Soul Eater)

tsubaki holding her weapon soul eater

Tsubaki Nakatsukasa from Soul Eater is an incredibly adaptable, kind-natured soul who doesn't have much of a problem going along with the whims of others due to how much she cares about them. This is seen both in how often she lets Black Star get away with ruining their chances of successfully completing missions and in how she allows her brother to choose what they always play when they're younger.

Tragically, though, her brother actually ends up resenting her for being overly kind and accommodating. He instead views it as her taking pity on him, and this is one of the reasons why the two end up in a heated battle-to-the-death where Tsubaki nearly loses.

4 Madoka Only Wants The Power To Protect The Innocent But Has To Sacrifice Herself In The Process (Puella Magi Madoka Magica)

madoka about to stop walpurgisnacht

Madoka Kaname from Puella Magi Madoka Magica is one of the kindest souls in anime. The only thing she wants is to feel as if she has something to offer others, and once she learns of the existence of magical girls, she becomes one in any timeline, whether it's to bring back a stray cat to life or just to give Mami someone to quell her loneliness.

In the final timeline, Madoka makes her wish in order to both save Homura from succumbing to despair as well as save the lives of everyone in the city from the ultimate witch, Walpurgisnacht. However, in doing so, Madoka has to sacrifice her human form and live out eternity as a concept that can only watch over and never directly interact with her loved ones again.

3 Taiga Tries To Let Her Estranged Father Back In & Is Only Hurt Once More (Toradora!)

taiga crying from toradora!

When Taiga's estranged father suddenly shows up in Toradora! and wants to be let back into her life, it's understandable that she's resentful and doesn't want anything to do with him. She's convinced by Ryuji to at least hear him out, and things seem like they're going well. They start planning to live together again, and he agrees to come see her part in the school festival.

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Neither of these plans ever come to fruition. It's an incredibly vulnerable thing for Taiga to let someone who's hurt her back in and try to allow herself to be happy, and it's painful seeing him flake out just like before.

2 Yuuki's Kindness & Naivete Are Consistently Exploited & Get Her Into Danger (Vampire Knight)

yuuki looking sad vampire knight

Yuuki is an incredibly kind girl who's always thinking about and doing things for others, but this is an incredibly dangerous trait to have, especially within the Vampire Knight universe. After all, Yuuki attends an academy with a night class full of vampires while also having a rare type of blood that's irresistible to them... though she's unaware of the latter fact for the early part of the series.

With her kindness and naivete combined, she often leaves herself in a defenseless state where it's quite easy for a vampire to lure her in or simply overpower her. For example, she's once even tricked by a small vampire child who pretends that he's a human who's lost his parents to drain her energy.

1 Crona Tries To Build Friendships & A Positive Life But Is Manipulated By Their Mother (Soul Eater)

crona panicking from soul eater

Although Crona from Soul Eater does commit actions that are far from kind and severely harm the main characters, they do so under the control of their mother. Maka is able to help break them out of this and helps them get into the academy to try to help build a better life for Crona.

They turn out to be incredibly kind and value Maka as well as her friendship above all else, but their mother Medusa is still able to control and manipulate them through fear and blackmail. Crona has to use the relationships they form with Maka as well as their teacher Marie against them, despite not ever wanting to hurt them.

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