When it comes to fictional characters, familial background is often everything. Heroes and villains are both born out of adversity, and it's not unusual for this pain to come from some kind of childhood trauma.
One of the best examples is Eren Yeager, Attack on Titan's protagonist. His early character arc revolves around avenging the death of his mother. Eren isn't the only one in this situation. Many characters are motivated by the deaths of their parents. Sometimes, they desire to avenge the loss. Other times, their goals are a little more complex.
10 Eren Yeager Watches His Mother Die And Eats His Father (Attack On Titan)
Eren is orphaned on-screen, and one of the saddest scenes in the whole series is that of Eren's mother reaching one last time for Eren before she is eaten by the Smiling Titan. At the same time, his father goes missing. Grief-stricken, Eren decides to kill every single titan and becomes a member of the Survey Corps.
Eren doesn't realize it at the time, but in reality, he himself has killed his father. Grisha Yeager feeds the Titan serum to his son and allows himself to be eaten, passing on the Attack Titan to Eren. The Smiling Titan is actually Grisha's first wife, Dina Fritz. Tragically, Eren and Dina Fritz's Pure Titan cross paths again, and this time, it kills his last remaining parental figure, Hannes.
9 Ciel Phantomhive Loses His Parents And Twin To A Cult Attack (Black Butler)
The main character of Black Butler, Ciel appears in the anime after already taking the position of Earl from his dead father. He also acts as the Queen's Watchdog in his father's place, with the help of his loyal and demonic butler Sebastian. His traumatic background is only revealed later. On his tenth birthday, Ciel is running through the mansion when he finds his parents and their dog both killed. He and his twin 'Ciel' are kidnapped by the attacking cult and violated. 'Ciel' is brutally sacrificed, and in the aftermath of his twin's death, Ciel summons a demon he makes a contract. He names the demon Sebastian, after his dead dog.
8 Ken Kaneki Is Haunted By Memories Of His Dead Mother (Tokyo Ghoul)
For most of season one of Tokyo Ghoul, protagonist Ken Kaneki refuses to accept what has happened to him. He believes it is better to suffer himself instead of making other people suffer. This is something that stems from the death of his mother, who raised him alone. When his jobless aunt requested financial aid, Kaneki's mother agreed, only to die out of overwork.
As Kaneki is tortured by Jason, an image of Rize Kamishiro appears to him, finally forcing him to acknowledge that he resents his mother for her actions. At first, his inability to accept this leads to the death of two more people, but then he finally snaps, embracing his true nature and brutally attacking Jason.
7 Tanjiro Kamado Loses His Family To A Demon's Attack (Demon Slayer)
It's not easy to lose one's family. It's even tougher to have to face the fact that a beloved relative has turned into a monster. That's exactly what happens to Tanjiro Kamado in Demon Slayer. He returns to his home and finds his whole family slaughtered by demons. The only survivor is his sister Nezuko, but she has been turned into a demon who attacks him.
Fortunately, Nezuko hasn't completely lost her true self, and she comes to Tanjiro's defense when he is attacked by Giyu Tomioka. Tanjiro then goes on to fight demons, in the hope of helping his sister and preventing other families from suffering the same fate his did.
6 Tohru Honda Tries To Survive On Her Own After Being Orphaned (Fruits Basket)
Tohru Honda doesn't have an easy life in Fruits Basket. Her father dies when she is three, and her mother Kyoko neglects her, unable to cope with his loss. She eventually snaps out of her depression and focuses on raising Tohru, realizing her daughter needs her. But then Kyoko dies in a car accident, leaving Tohru in the care of her paternal grandfather.
Tohru takes a job to help him with expenses, but that isn't enough either. When the family of her grandfather's daughter makes plans to move in, he asks Tohru to temporarily find another place to live. Not wanting to be a burden, Tohru lies and says she has made arrangements. She ends up living in a tent on the Sohma family lands.
5 Suzaku Kururugi Kills His Own Father To Save His Friends And Country (Code Geass)
The deuteragonist of Code Geass, Suzaku Kururugi is the son of the Prime Minister of Japan, Genbu. When The Holy Britannian Empire invades Japan, Genbu wishes to keep fighting, even if it means unnecessary sacrifice in the face of the overwhelming might of Britannia. Suzaku then overhears a conversation on the phone and learns his father has been instructed to kill Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally, Britannian royals living with the Kururugis as political hostages.
To save his friends and his nation, Suzaku kills his father. Taizo Kirihara covers for him, pretending the death was a suicide. The Japanese resistance collapses, which ends up preserving their forces for Lelouch's future rebellion. Suzaku, on the other hand, is traumatized by his patricide, wishing to die as atonement. Suzaku never receives help and his death wish proves to be disastrous on several occasions after he becomes a member of the Britannian army.
4 Misaki Takahashi Loses His Parents In A Car Accident (Junjou Romantica)
The protagonist of Junjou Romantica, Misaki Takahashi lives a carefree life with his parents and older brother, Takahiro. When Misaki is eight, tragedy strikes. His parents die in a car accident, and Misaki blames himself, as he had told them to hurry home. His brother gives up his studies to raise Misaki. Determined not to be a burden, Misaki learns how to do all the household chores. This ultimately leads to him living with Akihiko Usami, his love interest in the anime.
3 William James Moriarty Is An Orphan Without A Name Of His Own (Moriarty The Patriot)
Moriarty the Patriot is a retelling of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes series, focusing on villain James Moriarty. The main character first shows up living in an orphanage with his brother, Louis. His name is never even mentioned, but Albert Moriarty admires his intelligence and convinces his parents to take the two siblings in.
Disgusted by the discriminatory attitude his parents and younger brother William display toward the lower classes of society, Albert asks his new sibling to help him. The three kill the other members of the Moriarty family and start a fire. In the aftermath, the name of Albert's dead brother is taken by his adoptive one. The young orphan becomes William James Moriarty, a genius with a wicked plan to reform Britain.
2 Yuichiro and Mikaela Hyakuya Are Taken In By An Organization That Experiments On Them (Seraph Of The End)
For Seraph of the End's Yuichiro Hyakuya, being an orphan is the least of his problems. His parents both try to kill him, arguing that he is a demon spawn. The series then reveals his mother is actually his step-parent, though it's unclear if his father is in the same situation.
Following the attack, Yuu is taken to an orphanage run by the Hyakuya sect and experimented on, as he is a carrier of the Seraph Gene. There, he meets other orphans in the same situation, including Mikaela, who becomes his best friend. The children are eventually kidnapped by vampires and most of them – with the exception of Mikaela and Yuu – are killed in an escape attempt.
1 Tanya Degurechaff Is Transported To A World Where She Is An Orphan (Saga Of Tanya The Evil)
Among the numerous anime orphans, Tanya from The Saga of Tanya the Evil is a bit of a rarity. She is divorced from her familial background. Tanya is the reincarnation of a harsh and brutally efficient Japanese salaryman, who dies after being pushed in front of a train by a former coworker he fired.
Reborn into a different world in 1914, Tanya finds herself in an orphanage in a nation called the Empire. Identified as a child with magical abilities, she enlists in the army and rapidly goes up the ranks. Her goal is simple: to be promoted to a non-combatant superior position so that she can spite Being-X – the reason for her presence in this world.