Any good work of fiction, including Japanese anime, can remind viewers to be thankful for the many wonderful things in their lives, from good health or a cherished hobby to friends and family. Anime can do this in a number of ways such as portraying the loss of a loved one.
Or, the anime might portray the hardships the characters experience, reminding viewers to be more sympathetic to their real-life counterparts. Many anime involve one or more sister characters, deceased or not, whose role in the story may inspire a viewer to feel more connected to the sister they might have.
10 Thorfinn Didn't See His Big Sister For Years (Vinland Saga)
The medieval seinen anime Vinland Saga focuses mainly on bloody battlefields and intriguing philosophy about war and revenge, but this Viking anime never forgets the human side of its characters, especially the roguish antihrero, Thorfinn Karlsenfi. He has a big sister named Ylva, but hasn't seen her since he was six.
Thorfinn and Ylva were separated when Thorfinn snuck aboard Thors' ship one day, and they spent many years apart, with Ylva worrying about her missing father and much younger brother. Later in the Vinland Saga manga, they are finally reunited, and Thorfinn also learns that he's now an uncle.
9 Shoko Komi's Brother Usually Ignores Her (Komi Can't Communicate)
Komi Can't Communicate is far more light-hearted than a typical seinen anime, but it will still remind anime fans to appreciate their sisters and give them plenty of love and support. The shy dandere Shoko Komi is miserable because she can't make any friends, and her little brother Shosuke does very little to comfort her.
Shosuke isn't a jerk, but his apathetic attitude may still remind Komi fans that brothers should be more sympathetic to their sisters and offer them help whenever it's needed, and vice versa. Brothers and sisters can do much more than tease or annoy one another, regardless of their differences.
8 Lisanna Strauss Seemingly Died (Fairy Tail)
Fairy Tail's primary message, to a fault, is the power of friendship and family bonds, and the members of the Fairy Tail guild know that better than anyone. The Strauss siblings are perfect examples. For many years they believed their youngest sister, Lisanna died. Mirajane and Eflman missed her terribly.
Later, the Fairy Tail wizards met Lisanna alive and well in the parallel world of Edolas, and she was able to return to Earthland with them. Everyone was reduced to happy tears, and Lisanna has been bravely fighting alongside her guildmates ever since.
7 Misaki Ayuzawa Works Hard For Her Little Sister (Maid-Sama!)
Maid-Sama! stars the tsundere student council president Misaki Ayuzawa who works incredibly hard to support both her single mother and her little sister Suzuna, for which the rest of her family is quite grateful. Misaki's little sister doesn't appear that often, but it's clear the two of them get along perfectly.
Seeing the selfless, hardworking Misaki in action may remind anime fans of how far a person will push themselves for their sibling, and it's inspiring to see. Misaki will do whatever she must to give Suzuna a better life, and Misaki always puts Suzuna first.
6 Hisana Regretted Abandoning Rukia (Bleach)
In more ways than one, the hit shonen anime Bleach shows how important sisters can be to their siblings. A good example is the minor character Hisana Kuchiki who, in a moment of desperation, abandoned her baby sister Rukia, only to marry into the Kuchiki family. But she couldn't outrun her guilt.
On her deathbed, Hisana begged Byakuya to find and adopt Rukia, and to never tell Rukia about what a selfish, cowardly big sister she had been. That's a heartbreaking but vivid reminder to never take a loving family member for granted or see them as a burden.
5 Sayu Yagami Paid For Her Brother's Ambitions (Death Note)
Light Yagami the shonen antihero has a younger sister named Sayu, but he rarely paid any attention to her aside from maintaining appearances as an innocent brother and son. Then, after the timeskip, a college-aged Sayu got herself kidnapped and held for ransom by Mello's thug in exchange for the Death Note.
Light actually considered killing both his father and sister to protect the notebook before changing his mind, and he seemed unconcerned that Sayu, even after her rescue, had suffered serious psychological damage. He did nothing to comfort her as a big brother should.
4 Ayato Later Regretted Antagonizing Touka (Tokyo Ghoul)
Even flesh-eating ghouls sometimes learn the value of family, as was the case with the Kirishimas. Touka and her little brother Ayato had a falling out after their father's death, with Touka trying to live a semi-normal life and Ayato going rogue as a brutal ghoul. It seemed they'd never reconcile.
The two of them even came to blows during the battle at the Aogiri Tree hideout. But much later, Ayato had a change of heart. He mended ties with his big sister and finally learned to value her as family, and the Kirishimas have gotten along well ever since.
3 Sato Matsuzaka Kidnapped Someone's Sister (Happy Sugar Life)
The dark shonen series Happy Sugar Life features a pink-haired yandere named Sato Matsuzaka who kidnaps an 8-year-old girl named Shio and adopts her as her own lover, and Shiro accepts this. In fact, Shio becomes something of a pint-sized yandere herself, having her mind twisted by exposure to Sato.
Shio's big brother, Asahi, is desperately searching for her, and he'll even confront the heavily armed Sato over it. It's true that Shio and Asahi's home life is pretty bad, but even so, they are brother and sister, and Asahi could never let Shio disappear like that. He must bring her home at all costs.
2 Naoto Tachibana Must Save His Big Sister (Tokyo Revengers)
Tokyo Revengers is an exciting shonen series that's all about the good-hearted punk Takemichi going back in time to 2005 so he can change the past and prevent the horrible death of his good friend Hinata. In fact, it's Hinata's surviving little brother, Naoto, who came up with this daring plan.
Naoto inspired anime viewers with his devotion to his innocent sister and his desire to save her life at all costs. He reminds anime fans that there's no telling when a loved one might lose their life in an unexpected accident or bout of violence. And time-travel isn't an option in real life.
1 Koki Suido Misses His Sister (Tokyo 24th Ward)
The cyberpunk anime series Tokyo 24th Ward killed off the character Asumi Suido in the very first episode, with Asumi being Koki Suido's sister and the daughter of the 24th ward's mayor, Gori Suido. Koki and Gori dearly miss Asumi, but they expressed it in different ways.
Gori took the radical step of using Asumi's physical body to run a high-tech system called KANAE, but he didn't learn until later that Asumi's mind was alive and functioning in that system, making her an example of transhumanism in sci-fi. Koki soon did his best to help his anguished sister finally find peace.