Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Forum administrators, Interface administrators, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
116,603
edits
m (remove unneccessary quote box template) |
Looney Toons (talk | contribs) (standardized section headers, markup, copyedits) |
||
(21 intermediate revisions by 9 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
[[File:kari sick 3372.jpg|link=Digimon Adventure|frame]]
{{quote|''"The first [witch], by name Asha, was sick of a malady no Healer could cure. She hoped that the Fountain would banish her symptoms and grant her a long and happy life."''
|''[[The Tales of Beedle the Bard]]''}}
The ill girl is almost inevitably a [[The Woobie|sympathetically cute girl]].<ref>though lately, more and more handsome males are taking up the role</ref> The disease can be anything from anemia to organ failure. Smart writers avoid such specifics, making it a [[Soap Opera Disease]]. It will never disfigure or impair her cuteness, [[Healthcare Motivation|but usually prompts an older brother or sister figure into shady business to help pay the medical bills]]. Or prompts them to rush into some dangerous/brave deed while she cheers them on.
A [[Discredited Trope|common cliche]] is the character being sick in [[Empathic Environment|autumn, noticing leaves falling off a tree by the window]], with the prediction/hope she'll at least stay alive long enough to see the last one fall. This is taken from the O. Henry story "[http://www.online-literature.com/o_henry/1303/ The Last Leaf]".
Line 15 ⟶ 12:
Only occasionally related to [[Definitely Just a Cold]]. See also [[Littlest Cancer Patient]], [[Bandage Babe]], [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth]], [[Incurable Cough of Death]], [[Utsuge]] and [[Soap Opera Disease]].
----
{{examples}}
== Female Examples ==
=== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ===
* Hikari (Kari) Yagami (pictured above) in ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'', younger sister of Taichi (Tai), who gets the [[Incurable Cough of Death]] during one episode. Through a flashback in the anime, she is shown to have gotten pneumonia, but as she ages her illness mysteriously vanishes.
** Actually, it's stated that {{spoiler|Hikari had ''not'' properly healed from a huge cold that left her bedridden and unable to join the kids who'd become the Digidestined in their fateful school trip. Said cold came back with a vengeance when they were in the Digital World, causing Hikari to fall down with a fever that was just as bad as back home -- only that in this particular [[Sick Episode]], they had no ways to properly treat her, and for worse Metal Seadramon was following them. It triggered Taichi's bad memories of the incident in which, years ago, he accidentally caused Hikari to almost die of pneumonia.}}
** Relena Norstein from ''[[
* Chiho, Uzume's Ashikabi from ''Sekirei'' has a mysterious unnamed illness that keeps her hospitalized. It later becomes a pivotal plot point towards the middle of the second season (Pure Engagement)
* ''[[Fruits Basket]]'':
** Rin (stomach ulcers {{spoiler|coming from her [[Broken Bird]] personality and the stress of her [[Abusive Parents|horrible former home life]] }}) and {{spoiler|Akito (unclear illness that comes from the stress of being the God of the Zodiac, which may be the same sickness that killed her father Akira)}}. Even though they're sick, they both scare the living crap out of people: Rin because she's headstrong and harsh, {{spoiler|Akito because she's the feared leader of the Sohma clan.}}
** Also, in {{spoiler|Akito}}'s case, her illness {{spoiler|''may'' be more psychosomatic than anything. She's shown doing a LOT better in the health fields after her [[Heel Face Turn]].}}
* ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'': Sayo Mutou aka Magdaria, the younger sister and [[Morality Pet]] of Shougo Amakusa, has an [[Incurable Cough of Death]] (and some [[Blood From the Mouth]]). Unlike other cases, though, we know what she has: it's tuberculosis, Magdaria's had since she was a little girl, and she even "inherited" it from her [[Missing Mom]], also an
* Marie in ''[[
* An episode of ''[[Galaxy Angel (
* Hayate Yagami in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
* Hyatt in ''[[Excel Saga (
:This appears to be an empathetic illness, at least in the manga. For several volumes Hyatt went some time without her usual blood and death routine, but the revelation that the competent Excel was an impostor brought it back.
* Rika in ''[[Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora]]''.
* Kaori in ''[[Strawberry Panic
* Akiko from ''[[Itazura
* Hotaru Tomoe in ''[[Sailor Moon|Sailor Moon S]]''. Also, one-time character Misa-chan from the Stars season.
** [[Anti
* Megumi aka Megu, Suigintou's medium and [[Morality Pet]] from ''[[Rozen Maiden]]''.
* Shizuka Kawai (a.k.a. Serenity Wheeler) from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' prior to her operation. (In the first anime series, she has an unspecified disease, but in the manga and second anime series, she's going blind.)
** It turns out that {{spoiler|Pegasus}}'s [[Freudian Excuse]] was centered around one of these: {{spoiler|his deceased fiancée Cecilia, who died few before their wedding.}}
* ''[[Angelic Layer]]'': The mother of the main character, Shuuko, is an adult
* ''[[Code Geass]]'': Nunnally Lamperouge/vi Britannia, the younger sister of the main character, is both blind and contained in a wheelchair after she witnessed and barely survived their mother's brutal murder. He promises her that by the time she gets well, the world will be a better place. He never mentions ''how''
** Also, fellow student and revolutionary Kallen Stadtfeld/Kozuki uses the ''image'' of the
* Subversion, possible parody: Kagome's never-ending parade of fake illnesses in ''[[Inuyasha]]'' [[Hilarity Ensues|causes much sympathy and embarrassment.]]
** Kikyou took this role more than once, despite being undead. Namely, it happened every time she was either weakened by poison or suffering the physical downsides of her clay body.
* Though it's never mentioned in the anime, Kurz Weber of ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]'' is stated to have joined Mithril in order to pay the hospital bills of a young girl who was critically injured in a mission he was involved in. {{spoiler|More exactly, during the assassination of the man responsible for the deaths of Kurz's parents. Kurz, who was supposed to take the shot, stopped when he realized that the poor girl would also be hit; his [[Cold Sniper]] mentor, Wilhelm Casper, had fewer scruples and fired anyhow}}.
* ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'' has Michal Amagi, a Tomoe Hotaru-esque figure that also happens to be Lucia's [[Clingy Jealous Girl|romantic rival]] and the little sister of one of the villains. {{spoiler|It's a wonder she survives, really.}}
* Anju Kitahara in the anime version of ''[[Marmalade Boy]]''. She has [[Heart Trauma|a weak heart]] and might not live for long if she doesn't go through a ''very'' dangerous operation in ther USA, but [[Plucky Girl|she attempts to remain cheerful]] and even befriends her beloved Yuu's girlfriend Miki, telling her [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|that she won't break them up]] and is as happy as she can with being Yuu's [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]]. {{spoiler|She's operated and gets better, and when Yuu breaks up with Miki she has a small chance to get Yuu for herself, but ultimately she (and Miki's other love interest Kei) give up when they get back together.}}
* Toji Suzuhara's off camera sister in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'': After the injuries she suffers among the civilians caught in the middle of the fight in the first two episodes, Toji is eventually recruited as the pilot of Unit 03 in exchange for her being transferred to NERV's medical facilities. However, {{spoiler|Toji himself is severely crippled when an Angel takes over his Eva.}}
** In [[Rebuild of Evangelion|Rebuild]], we get to see Toji doting on his little sister as she finally gets out of the hospital, {{spoiler|and Asuka ends up piloting Unit 03 in his place.}}
* In ''[[Fafner in The Azure Dead Aggressor]]'' Shouko Kazama is the ultimate
* Otohime Mutsumi from ''[[Love Hina]]'', who has a severe case of aenemia and passes out almost everywhere. During her [[Crash Into Hello]] with Keitaro, she fell over, with [[Blank White Eyes]] ''and'' [[Blood From the Mouth]]. Keitaro checks for a pulse...and there isn't one. Cue [[Freak
** Naru ''used'' to be an
* Fujimiya Aya fills this role for most of ''[[Weiss Kreuz]]'' after she's hit by a car and ends up comatose, prompting her older brother Ran to become an assassin to pay her hospital bills - and to actually assume her name in tribute. {{spoiler|She ultimately gets better.}}
** In one episode Ran encounters another Ill Girl, whose brother has entered a [[Deadly Game]] to pay her medical bills.
* Mitsuki Koyama from ''[[Full Moon
* In ''[[Binbou Shimai Monogatari]]'' Asu winds up in hospital from a neglected cold, giving her sister Kyou the chance to indulge in emotional memories about the time their mother was hospitalized.
* Himeka Karasuma from ''[[Kamichama Karin]]''.
* Hisami Hisaishi from the ''[[Read or Die
* ''[[Gunslinger Girl]]'':
** {{spoiler|Rico}} turns out to have been an
** Also, {{spoiler|Claes}} stops taking roles in missions not just because of {{spoiler|her trainer Raballo's death}}, but because she actually has a weak heart.
** Let's not forget {{spoiler|Elisabeta}}, a Chernobyl survivor and former aspirant ballerina who developed cancer {{spoiler|and tried to commit suicide after her cancerous leg was amputated. Then she was brought into the Agency and became Petrushka aka Petra.}}
* Parodied in ''[[Pretty Sammy|Magical Project S]]'', where one of the [[Monster of the Week|Love-love Monsters]] is called "fake sick girl", who even gives the speech about not seeing the last leaf fall from a tree. When the person talking with her mentions that the tree is quite full and healthy, she blows it up with a cannon hidden in her bed.
* Subverted quite quickly in ''[[
* Usopp's best friend Kaya from ''[[
* Dr. [[
** Pinoko, his adopted daughter assistant. {{spoiler|She was originally a [[Body Horror|sentient tumor in the body of a young girl]], whom he extirped and gave a doll-like body out of pity since he found out that she strongly wished to live, just like Black Jack wanted to after the accident that killed his mother and left him paralyzed for years. Pinoko's sister had a [[Freak
** Michiru, a beautiful manga artist whose biggest dream was to get married before she died, {{spoiler|so Black Jack played the charade to make her accept the operation that would save her, later "breaking up" with her so she wouldn't let her one-sided love for him stunt her. She not only gets better, but ends up marrying her [[Unlucky Childhood Friend]].}}
** Souno, another [[Ojou]] (but in a more [[Yamato Nadeshiko|traditionally Japanese]] way than Michiru) who also was a skilled Ikebana expert, but had a never specified illness that was made more serious by the pressure [["Well Done, Son" Guy|her well-intentioned but ultra-strict father]] put on her.
** Watou and Kumiko's classmate Rei, an [[Idol Singer]] who takes her career as ''really'' [[Serious Business]], but has a tumor in her ''throat'' that will put it in serious risks.
** Megumi Kisaragi, a female doctor whom Black Jack fancied, but had advanced ovarian cancer. {{spoiler|After having her affected inner organs removed, she changed her name to Kei and left, living her life as a male, despite not being outright said if she went through a sex change or not}}.
** In the backstory, there is another: {{spoiler|Black Jack's own mother, who was severely injuered in the same incident that left him as an [[Ill Boy]].}}
* ''[[
** Kanata, Konata's mom and Soujiro's wife, apparently died in a very
** [[Cheerful Child|Yutaka]], Konata's ''paternal'' cousin, has recurring (albeit mild) health problems that make it difficult for her to keep up with her
* ''[[Paranoia Agent]]'' actually features a direct parody of "The Last Leaf".
* Parodied and played melodramatically in ''[[Mamoru-kun Ni Megami no Shukufuku Wo]]''. During the Valentine's Day episode, a contest is on to see who can give Mamoru chocolate in the most creative way possible. Shione orchestrates a "Last Leaf" situation with her brother claiming her lack of fashion sense is a disease affecting "one in six billion people" that will kill her. In the end, Shione "dies", but not before giving Mamoru her chocolate...[[Anime Hair|shaped like her hairstyle]].
* {{spoiler|Sora}} from ''[[Mahou Tsukai
* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00
** Stella Loussier from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
** All of these are predated by Four Murasame from ''[[Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam
* Subverted in ''[[Ikki Tousen]]'': {{spoiler|Ryoufou Housen}} is dying of an illness, but she's still a fearsome [[Dark Action Girl]] {{spoiler|and actually goes down fighting rather than of illness. In the anime, she [[Death Is Cheap|gets]] [[Back
* Someone subverted in ''[[Planetes]]'', where during a hospital stay Hachimaki meets a girl who he believes to be chronically ill, but does not want to be rude by asking. In reality, she is a child who was born on the moon, and is staying in the hospital to provide medical information to scientists and doctors.
* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' has [[The Woobie|Ako Izumi]] briefly filling the role after she catches some sort of disease upon arriving in Magicus Mundus. It varies a little bit in that she gets the cure early on, but it's so expensive that it forces her and two of her friends (Natsumi Murakami and Akira Ookochi) to sell themselves into slavery. This in turn leads to Negi having to enter a tournament to win the money to buy their freedom.
* In the ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' episode "Waltz for Venus," Spike befriends a smuggler named Roco who is trying to earn enough money to pay for his blind sister Stella's eye operation. [[Tear Jerker|It ends in tragedy.]]
* Played with in ''[[After War Gundam X
* Kotori Monou from ''[[X 1999]]'' has a serious heart condition. One of her older brother Fuuma's first scenes in the manga has him reading out loud a list with the remedies that Kotori has to take that day.
* ''[[
* Chiyuki from ''[[A Thousand Snows]]''.
* [[Deconstructed]] in a ''[[
** The other moral: in [[Real Life]], [[Deconstruction|being chronically sick can make a person]] [[Broken Bird|pretty bitchy]].
** Played [[Tear Jerker|heartbreakingly straight]] in the [[
*** Besacially, Torakura was {{spoiler|[[Moving the Goalposts]].}}
* Subverted quite cruelly with Aiko from the ''[[Vampire Princess Miyu]]'' OAV, who was thought to be in a [[Convenient Coma]] due to either illness or [[Demonic Possession]], but Himiko later discovered that {{spoiler|she summoned the main Shinma in despair after blaming herself for her parents's death, having survived the accident that caused their demises. Ever since then, she lays on a futon and simply... sleeps, while the Shinma wreaks havoc around. She only wakes up when Himiko confronts the Shinma, but Miyu stops her when she's about to drink Himiko's blood, and once the Shinma is defeated Aiko dies.}}
* Though no one takes her seriously, Umino of ''[[Satou Kashi no Dangan wa Uchinukenai]]'' claims that her painful limp and clumsiness were caused by a witches spell that turned her into a human with an imperfect pair of legs. She says this same spell will turn her into sea foam in one months time if she does not fulfill her wish of finding a "precious friend."
* ''Very'' cruel version: {{spoiler|Miyuki Aiba/Shana Carter aka Tekkaman Rapier/Teknoman Shana}} from ''[[
* Tsubaki Kakyouin aka "Tsubaki-hime" and {{spoiler|Muraki's fiancée}} Ukyou Sakuraiji, both from ''[[Yami no Matsuei]]''.
* ''[[Bleach]]'': Byakuya Kuchiki's deceased wife, Hisana. It's implied that {{spoiler|her sickness was caused or compounded by her repitive guilt-driven visits to Rukongai in search of her lost sister, Rukia}}.
* Inori's older sister Seri in ''[[Harukanaru Toki no Naka
* Subverted with Izumi Curtis from ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'': a [[Eerie Pale
* {{spoiler|Anemone}} from [[Eureka Seven]]. {{spoiler|This [[Dark Action Girl]] pretty much has to ''live'' drugged to get away with the process she underwent to become Coralian-like, which causes her horrible side-effects like headaches, psychic nosebleeds and wild mental unstability. The doctor even says her resistance to the drugs was her greatest value.}} [[Jerkass Woobie|OUCH!]]
** Female lead Eureka, as well. She spends much of the first half of the series feeling progressively worse due to her diminishing connection to the Nirvash.
* Takiko Okuda ''and'' her [[Missing Mom]] Yoshie from ''[[Fushigi Yuugi Genbu Kaiden]]''. Takiko caught tuberculosis from the deceased Yoshie while tending to her in her own world. She insists it's just a cold, as her father makes plans to take her back to Tokyo for medical treatment.
** Then we have {{spoiler|Mitsukake's girlfriend Shouka}} from [[Fushigi Yuugi|the original series]], who actually {{spoiler|''did'' die. And then [[Came Back Wrong]].}}
* Kozue from the old-school anime ''[[Attack
* Kosumo Koganehara from Michiyo Akaishi's ''[[Towa Kamo Shirenai]]'' was born with a weak heart, and in fact the manga starts when she has a seizure during her treatment in the USA and needs an urgent transplant, but her extremely rare blood type doesn't allow for an easy one. The donor that saves her life just ''happens'' to be Himiko, a [[Miko]] and [[Magical Girl Warrior]] who has just died via an [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to save a child, so Kosumo inherits her powers alongside her heart and blood and must take up her demon slaying mission - with the help of her [[Tall, Dark and Handsome]] guardian, Hitsuji.
* ''[[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]]'': Chrome Dokoro/Nagi will die if Mukuro {{spoiler|or currently Daemon Spade}} isn't giving her illusionary organs to replace the ones that she lost when she was hit by a car.
* {{spoiler|Tamaki's French [[Missing Mom]], Anne-Sophie Grantaine}} in [[Ouran High School Host Club]]. More exactly, {{spoiler|she has lupus.}}
* In the second season fo ''[[
* {{spoiler|Homura Akemi}} from ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'', before meeting Madoka and her friends, was this. She spent most of her life in the local hospital due to [[Heart Trauma|a severe heart illness.]] It's not specified how she got rid of it, but most likely did it with {{spoiler|her [[Magical Girl]] powers}}. This is also the basis of her attitude towards {{spoiler|Madoka}}, as her social isolation and orphanhood means the latter is pretty much the first and [[Only Friend]] she could made for the past ''14 years''.
** Also, according to popular [[Fanon]], {{spoiler|the witch Charlotte may have been one when she was still a [[Magical Girl]]}}. What prompted this [[Epileptic Tree]] was {{spoiler|that her Grief Seed first appeared outside a hospital, there is a general medical theme to her barrier as well as the sweets, and the fact that she's obsessed with cheese, which chemotherapy patients aren't allowed to have}}. Add in the detail that Kyubey ''has'' contracted girls on the verge of death (see: {{spoiler|Mami, who had been seriously injured in the car crash where her parents died}}), and this theory became popular.
* Yuki from [[Moshidora]]. {{spoiler|Unfortunately, she doesn't get better.}}
* Anju from [[Karin]] is ''believed'' to be this. [[Our Vampires Are Different|That's far from the truth, obviously.]]
* Three of these show up in ''[[Hana
** Alitta from the Netherlands arc. Fortunately, it's a temporary illness rather than a life-threatening one. Unfortunately, she's a famous stage actress and thus she needs her [[Identical Stranger]] Lunlun to be her temporary [[Body Double]]...
** Anna from the Switzerland arc, who's confined to a wheelchair and [[Don't You Dare Pity Me!|refuses to go out since she hates how people look down on her.]] She subverts the "sweet and kind" part by being rather harsh and spoiled due to her health issues, {{spoiler|until she becomes the [[Jerkass]] Pete's [[Morality Pet]].}}
** Lucero, the little girl from the [[Orphanage of Love]] in the Italy arc, who's blind.
* Haruna from ''[[Tenchi Muyo!|Tenchi Forever!]]'' is this. After fleeing with her lover, {{spoiler|Yosho/Katsuhiko}}, she became ill during their trip. {{spoiler|She died}} before the couple arrived on Earth.
* {{spoiler|Ultear}} from ''[[Fairy Tail]]'' was this in the past. {{spoiler|Then she fell in the hands of a bunch of [[Complete Monster]] scientists whom her mother asked for help, not knowing about their intentions; they ''did'' heal Ultear, but they told Ur that she had died, and then told Ultear that her mother had abandoned her... just so they could make the desperate Ultear their [[Dark Action Girl]] [[Tyke Bomb]].}}
* Kaoru Orihara from ''[[Oniisama
* Three show up in [[Honoo no Alpen Rose]]: Clara (temporary but plot-important illness {{spoiler|that has her brother rat out Jeudi and lundi to get money for her medicine}}), Marie ( {{spoiler|confined to a wheelchair, but starts to walk after befriending Lundi}}, and specially {{spoiler|Jeudi's [[Missing Mom]] Helene (weak heart and almost total blindness after the accident that separated her from Jeudi.)}}
* One of the two reasons why [[Haou Airen|Kurumi Akino]] [[Promotion to Parent|is the main breadwinner]] of the family is that her mother is an ill girl and thus she cannot take a regular job. The other is that Kurumi's father died two years before the story started.
* Asa Shigure from [[
* Kiku from ''Idaten Jump'', also {{spoiler|[[Ninja|Kouhei]]'s little sister}} and the local [[Yamato Nadeshiko]]. {{spoiler|Her illness turns out to be a consequence of the disbalance between the X Zone and Earth, and once it's fixed she starts to get better.}}
=== [[Comic Books]] ===
* {{spoiler|Cheryl Blossom}} in [[Archie Comics]], [http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/03/06/archie-cheryl-blossom-breast-cancer/#ixzz1oMquJ4CK according to recent issues.]{{when}} {{spoiler|She has cancer.}}
=== [[Film]] ===
* ''[[Repo! The Genetic Opera]]'' has two of these as various points - Marni, who died before the film started, and her daughter Shilo, who inherited the disease. {{spoiler|Until it turns out that she's not really ill--her father was poisoning her so she would have to stay with him.}}
* ''[[The Hand That Rocks the Cradle]]'': Claire (Annabella Sciorra) is an adult Ill Girl who suffers of chronic asthma. {{spoiler|And Payton (Rebecca De Monray), the [[Cute and Psycho]] [[Villain Protagonist]], uses said illness to her advantage... among ''other'' things. She still loses in the end.}}
* The Sandman's daughter in ''[[Spider-Man (film)|Spider-Man]] 3''.
* ''October Sky'' features a kind and encouraging schoolteacher, Miss Riley, who is revealed to suffer from Hodgkin's Disease during the third act of the film, giving the Rocket Boys that extra emotional push to pull off their last, climactic, rocket launch.
** Seeing as how ''October Sky'' was based off of the autobiography ''Rocket Boys'' (complete with the actual aforementioned
* [http://www.lovehkfilm.com/ LoveHKFilm] uses the term "terminal beauty" to refer to romance movies that feature one of these girls as the primary love interest, and features a good number of reviews of such Hong Kong movies in general.
* The ''entire point'' of Nicholas Sparks' ''A Walk To Remember''.
Line 143 ⟶ 139:
* Jennifer Cavelleri, in ''Love Story''.
* The female lead in the Taiwanese movie ''Secret''. Point of note: this is not the titular secret.
* ''Sympathy for Mr Vengeance'' by Park Chan-Wook (of [[
* ''[[Film/Charly|Charly]] '' based on the book by Jack Weyland.
* The Doctor's wife in ''[[The Fountain]]'' from 2006.
* Kate from ''[[My
* Bastian's mother is shown to be this in a flashback in ''[[The Neverending Story (
* Maggie Murdock's role as this is most of the entire plot of ''[[Love and Other Drugs]]''.
=== [[Literature]] ===
* Liza, Madame Khokhlakov's daughter, in ''[[The Brothers Karamazov]]''.
* Fantine in Victor Hugo's ''[[Les Misérables (
** Fantine in the musical of ''[[Les Misérables (
* Helen Burns from ''[[Jane Eyre]]''.
* Elizabeth "Beth" March from ''[[Little Women]]''. {{spoiler|She later becomes Jo's [[Dead Little Sister]].}}
* An example from Chinese literature: Lin Tai-yu in "A Dream of Red Mansions".
* [[Jonathan Strange
* Many of the female characters created by Edgar Allen Poe fit this type. Notable examples include the eponymous heroines of his short stories "Ligeia" and "Berenice", and his famous poem "Annabel Lee". {{spoiler|They always die.}}
* [[Only Known
* Michelle in Robin Cook's medical thriller ''Fever'', suffering from leukemia and further weakened by chemotherapy.
* Pomma from the ''[[Green-Sky Trilogy]]'': [[Soap Opera Disease]] plus [[Troubling Unchildlike Behavior|an addiction]] to [[Fantastic Drug|wissenberries]]. {{spoiler|She ends up getting better with [[The Power of Friendship|Teera]] around.}}
* Sarah from ''[[All of a Kind Family]]'' is said to get sick more easily than her sisters.
* The [[
** Anne de Bourgh, daughter of the formidable Lady Catherine in ''[[Pride and Prejudice]]'', is said to be "of a sickly constitution." It's never made very clear what this means, exactly.
** Marianne Dashwood, in ''[[Sense and Sensibility (
** Jane Fairfax, in ''[[Emma]]'', crosses this with [[Incurable Cough of Death]]. [[Word of God]] states that {{spoiler|she died of tuberculosis a few years after the end of the book}}.
* Queen Ehlana, in the ''[[Elenium]]'' trilogy by [[David Eddings]], is a variation on the trope. Under normal circumstances, she's perfectly healthy and energetic, but as it gets explained to her personal champion, she's been getting progressively more sick since her coronation, and her sickness isn't something that anyone's ever
* Mercy from ''[[The Witch of Blackbird Pond]]'' has a lame leg and poor health as a result of a fever she caught as a very small child.
*
* Diggory's mother Mabel Ketterley-Kirke in [[Narnia|The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician's Nephew]]. In fact, she and Diggory live with Uncle Andrew and Aunt Lettie because they're taking care of her while Mr. Kirke has to work in India. {{spoiler|With a little help of Aslan and a magical apple he gives to Diggory at the end of his and Polly's adventures, Mabel ultimately gets better.}}
* The aforementioned Kate in ''[[
** Kate is actually so ill that {{spoiler|she actually ''does'' want to die, thus she asks her sister/prospect donor Anna [[Thanatos Gambit|for help]] so Anna can be released from being her forced donor and Kate can die in peace.}}
** This trope is also seen in two of [[Jodi Picoult]]'s other books, ''[[Handle
* The book "[[Role Called|Maria Jesus: Un milagro de amor]]" ("Maria Jesus, a miracle of love") by Chilean author Ana Maria Figueroa is the biography of an Illgirl named Maria Jesus, gathering all kinds of testimonials about how she coped with the leukemia that ultimately killed her. This is either: [[Littlest Cancer Patient|a valid way]] [[Dead Little Sister|to cope with the death]] [[Tear Jerker|of a young child]], a creepy [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth|post-mortem]] [[Purity Sue|"sanctification"]] of said
* Laura and Eileen from "Laura and the Silver Wolf" both have leukemia.
* Alice in A. Sapkowski's "Złote Popołudnie" ("Golden Afternoon"), a retelling of "Alice in Wonderland" from Cheshire Cat's POV. In this version Alice's visit in Wonderland is in fact her [[Dying Dream]] after drinking laudanum instead of her cold medication. She does get better.
* Annie in [[Connie Willis]]'s ''[[
* Gabrielle Gabrielson in ''The Story of Gabrielle'' by her mother Catherine. Published as a [[Real Life]] story, although there's no background info to verify it. Gabrielle, the [[Too Good for This Sinful Earth|brilliant]] and [[Spoiled Sweet]] little daughter of a well-to-do New England couple, begins complaining of stomach pain. She [[Waif Prophet|informs her mother]] that the pain is incurable and will eventually kill her. She's right. While most of her doctors think she has hepatitis and a few dismiss her as play-acting, a tiny "shadow" on the x-ray troubles the youngest doctor enough to call for an exploratory. He finds a gigantic, malignant cancer at the base of her spine. Catherine records Gaby's last weeks, her strange speeches and experiences as the cancer invades her brain, and her quiet death. All of this takes place in a hospital, which seems unlikely until you remember this was the 1940s and people could actually afford this level of health care.
* Cadpig from ''[[The Hundred and One Dalmatians]]'' by Dodie Smith, who was born nearly dead and revived, and is significantly weaker than her siblings throughout the book, requiring special provisions to be made for the journey back to London.
* Sister Edith from Selma Lagerlof's "Thy soul shall bear witness!", a Salvation Army membress who caught an [[Incurable Cough of Death]] while at work and has a single wish to be fulfilled: to speak with a man named David Holm, whom she has tried to redeem. {{spoiler|Little does she know that David has died and his soul has forcibly made into the rider of the Death Cart, so he can see how he has ruined other people's lives. As such, David is the one who fetches Edith's soul -- thus ''sorta'' fulfilling her wish.}}
* In [[Gene Stratton Porter]]'s ''Michael O'Halloran'', Peaches, the crippled girl.
* ''[[The Fault in Our Stars]]'' is practically centered arond this trope. Hazel is a prime example, although her disease is clearly known from the [[First Episode Spoiler|opening chapter.]]
=== [[Live-Action TV ]]===
* The episode "Awakened" of ''[[Charmed]]'' revolves around Prue and Phoebe discovering that Piper is terminally ill with the disease Oroya Fever. While real life symptoms of Oroya Fever include being covered in warts and rashes, Piper only experiences coughing, exhaustion, and fainting, all done adorably. {{spoiler|Of course, being the main character, Piper survives, but not until after the crying and good-byes.}}
* The titular Esmeralda of phenomenally popular telenovela ''[[wikipedia:Esmeralda (telenovela)|Esmeralda]]'' was born blind. This is later revealed to be due to congenital cataracts and she successfully regains her sight after an operation. It is interesting to note how her personality switches from [[The Ingenue|sweet and gentle]] while blind to [[Broken Bird|tough, stubborn and unforgiving]] almost overnight.
** The female lead from Chilean telenovela ''Corazon de Maria'' is an [[Ojou|upper class]] Ill Girl with a severe [[Heart Trauma]]. She gets a heart transplant coming from a middle-to-low class bride killed in a tragic car accident ''right after her wedding''. The drama starts when she starts searching for the donor Maria's family, and then she meets and falls for her handsome and hard-working husband Miguel...
** Alicia, a cute young girl in a wheelchair from [[Maria La Del Barrio]]. The scene where the [[Big Bad]] Soraya threatens her while screaming "MADITA LISIADA!" ("Goddamned crippled bitch!") is so [[Narm|ridiculous and overacted]] that it has reached [[Memetic Mutation]] levels.
* Perfect example found in the story of [[The Woobie|River Tam]] from ''[[Firefly]]'', a young girl who is a [[Ax Crazy|schizophrenic]] [[The Empath|empath]] as a result of [[Mind Rape|extensive neurological modification/experimentation]] done to her by a shadowy, government-affiliated military research facility. Her older brother, [[The Medic|Simon]], gives up his life as a successful doctor and makes them both federal fugitives when he breaks her out of captivity. The siblings are forced to live on the outskirts of society in order to avoid capture, and Simon spends much of his time and resources in his efforts to find a treatment to help restore River to her former self.
** In true
** Another good Firefly example was recently [[Word of God|revealed]] to be {{spoiler|Inara Serra, resident [[Hooker
* Drusilla from ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' is frail and weak when she first appears on the series. She was believed to have been killed by a mob in Prague, but apparently was only severely injured (How that mistake happens with a creature that turns to ''dust'' when killed is anyone's guest), to the point that normal vampiric healing couldn't restore her. Spike manages to restore her to full health by draining power off of Angel.
** Darla was a high class prostitute suffering from syphilys and waiting for her death. Then the Master gave her a visit.
* Jane Seymour on ''[[The Tudors]]'', another case of [[Truth in Television]].
* Shannon (Maggie Grace) from ''[[Lost]]'', who is asthmatic and needs to have an inhalator handy. Sawyer once stole her medicine and tried to use it to bargain...
** Juliet's sister is an
* A much harsher example in ''[[One Liter of Tears]]'' .
* Scully takes on this role for a season in ''[[The X-Files]]'' after it is revealed that {{spoiler|the tests preformed on her during her abduction have left her with (probably terminal) cancer.}} In accordance with the conventions of the trope, her appearance is relatively unaffected by the illness, and the only visible symptom is a {{spoiler|''[[Deadly Nosebleed]]''.}}
=== [[Music]] ===
* The song "Love You to Death" by [[Kamelot]] is about one of these.
* Kamei Eri had decided to quit [[Hello! Project|Morning Musume]] due to a long term illness, though it's not a life threatening condition.
=== [[Theatre]] ===
* Mimi in just about every version of ''[[La Boheme|La Bohème]]'' And, yes, despite dying of consumption she's still "beautiful as the dawn" on death's door.
* Fosca from the [[Stephen Sondheim]] musical ''Passion'' suffers from a [[Soap Opera Disease|conveniently vague illness]] that waxes and wanes according to her mood, but does nothing to make her more attractive; in a notable subversion of the "consumptive heroine" version of the trope, she's ugly, demanding, self-pitying, and doesn't inspire protectiveness in those around her so much as exasperation and mild disgust.
* The illness of Eva Peron (see Real Life below) is glamorized in the musical ''[[Evita]]''. She's made to look beautiful and fragile. Photos of the real Eva Peron from this period show that her beauty was quickly fading. RL death is seldom pretty.
* The point of ''Radium Girls'', especially Grace and Kathryn who appear throughout the play. The worst part is that it's based on a true story (see Real Life).
* ''[[Little Shop of Horrors
=== [[Video Games]] ===
* Castille from ''[[Phantom Brave]]''
* Muse from ''[[Romancing
* Subverted in ''[[Super Robot Wars]]: [[Original Generation]]'': Ryusei's mother is an adult
* ''[[Silent Hill 2]]'' has Mary, a rare adult example. Naturally, she has the [[Incurable Cough of Death]], too. The real rarity is the fact that she dies before the start of the game and is only seen and heard in flashbacks {{spoiler|or maybe not.}}
* ''[[Breath of Fire]] 3'' subverts this during the [[Inevitable Tournament|Contest of Champions]]. Emitai, one of the competitors, visits the heroes before their bout (which is weighed against him due to its rules) and introduces them to his daughter; he claims to be in the contest to earn her an operation that will cure her disease, and asks them to throw the fight. As one of the heroes is being held hostage, they refuse. After the match, however, if you visit Emitai's dressing room, you learn that it was a giant fraud on his part to get his opponents to forfeit. Just to make this clear, after the midgame time skip, you can find Emitai again (and recruit him as a master); his daughter has grown up and is rather embarrassed with him.
* In ''[[Advance Wars]]: Days of Ruin'', Isabella/Catleia fills this role early on due to being infected with the mysterious floral virus. Will/Ed is the one to cares for her most, but because the virus only affects younger people, he'd be in danger if he was around her too much. Due to her strange memories, the crew manages to find a cure for it. Unfortunately, the virus later evolves to be able to affect matures as well.
* Heather the Ghoul from the ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines|Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines]]'' game practically embodies this trope. First, you have to save her life when she lies dying in a hospital. Then, when she finds you again, she acts so cute and affectionate, you just have to have a heart of stone to send her away. Then, she starts making you small presents and other pleasant things, like letting you feed on her blood, free of charge, etc. Of course, most of her behavior is determined by her condition (by turning her into your ghoul, you bind her to yourself and your blood becomes a powerful, addictive drug for her) but that doesn't diminish her cuteness even one bit. Trust me. That she is a [[Meganekko]] and a potential [[Cosplay Otaku Girl]] doesn't exactly help, either... {{spoiler|[[It Got Worse|It Gets Worse]], however, for if you ''don't'' send her away, at some point she is gonna be [[Dead Little Sister|kidnapped and murdered]] as an act of [[Player Punch|revenge upon you]].}}
* Subverted by Raquel in ''[[Wild
* In ''[[Fire Emblem]] 8'', {{spoiler|Orson's wife Monica}} was an ill girl who died prior to the story. {{spoiler|Her husband loved her so much that [[Despair Event Horizon|he fell into utter and complete despair]], [[Love Makes You Evil|and defected to Grado when given the chance to have her revived]].}}
** In ''[[Fire Emblem]] 7'', [[Gentle Giant|Dorcas]]'s wife and [[Victorious Childhood Friend]] in an ill girl named Natalie, who has had problems in her leg ever since she was a little girl. One of the earlier missions is to keep her safe her inside of some abandoned ruins, and if Lyn talks to her husband who is in the enemy group, you can make him defect and [[Heel Face Turn|join your group]].
* Tyler Chase's little sister Amy is infected with the Deftera GUILT two years prior to the first ''[[Trauma Center]]'', and {{spoiler|eventually goes into critical condition in Chapter 3. Derek operates on her and cures her, thus removing her status as
* From the ''[[Tales
** Cheria starts ''[[
* Tomoki in [[Canvas 2]]. However, the surgery she needs is actually quite easy and not that expensive. Not even that risky. She's actually afraid it will work and she'll be lonely.
* Mary/Maki Sonomura in ''[[Persona (
* Yasumi Aizawa in ''[[Aoi Shiro]]'' {{spoiler|Until it turns out she just needed a little blood}}.
* Jessica from ''[[Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al
** Actually, he cured her alright. At the cost of her life energy. In short, she got better, but her life was cut in half ''at least''.
* Fana from ''[[Avalon Code]]''. Interesting in that you can actually heal her by removing the illness code attached to her, but this requires a series of related plot events, as you can't just pluck out the code and slap it on something else (codes with this property are marked with spiked borders).
* Ameena from ''[[Star Ocean: Till the End of Time]]'', who's also an Expy of [[Final Fantasy VII|another flower-selling girl]]. It ends [[Diabolus Ex Machina|even worse than this implies]].
* In the ''[[Tokimeki Memorial]]'' series, there's [[Meganekko|Mio]] [[Hot Librarian|Kisaragi]] of Tokimemo 1, who suffers from anemia and thus and can't handle violent physical activities and emotions, and Hotaru Izumi of Tokimemo 3, who had to stay for a long time at the hospital, and still suffers from some aftereffects, due to a car accident a few years prior the game's proper, which also {{spoiler|[[The Mourning After|cost the life of her dear boyfriend]]}}.
* In ''[[
* Yonah from ''[[
* Patchouli Knowledge from ''[[Touhou]]'' is really sick. She suffers from asthma, anemia, and Vitamin A deficiency because of her refusal to leave the library she lives in for ''centuries''.<ref>and also because of all the poisonous chemicals that she uses for her magic</ref>
* In the JRPG [[Lost Odyssey]] the player can acquire an ingame codex entry of the maincharacters past experiences. One in particular centers around an
* Occurs a couple of times in the ''[[Growlanser]]'' series:
** ''Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice'' includes Charlone's younger brother in this role.
** ''Growlanser 3'' has this as part of {{spoiler|[[The Dragon]]'s motivation to side with the [[Big Bad]]}}.
* ''[[Professor Layton and the Last Specter]]'' has {{spoiler|Arianna; she is cured a year after the events of the story.}}
* Miku in ''[[A Profile]]'' as a result of a slightly botched liver transplant.
* Toko in ''[[Kara no Shoujo]]'' is anemic and spends a lot of time sleeping. She also requires some special medicine. All in all, though, it's not too bad {{spoiler|until Mizuhara thinks it's some sort of drug, steals it and Toko ends up getting hit by a truck when she passes out.}}
* ''Ever17'' features two: {{spoiler|Yubiseiharukana (the You from Takeshi's path)}} who has a terminal heart condition and {{spoiler|Coco Yagami}} who has [[Incurable Cough of Death|Tief Blau]].
* In ''[[Fate/stay
* Miyu from ''[[Crescendo]]''
* Every single character in ''[[Katawa Shoujo]]''; in fact, the game started out as an attempt by [[The Imageboard That Must Not Be Named]] to create the videogame with the highest
* The eponymous Kana from ''[[Kana: Little Sister]]''. The cause of her disease is clearly stated: {{spoiler|kidney failure}}. The game also features Sumako and Cana. {{spoiler|Two of the three die.}}
* [[Key Visual Arts]] has at least one, sometimes more, in every game (except ''[[Planetarian]]'', because a [[Robot Girl|Robot Ill Girl]] wouldn't really work):
** ''[[
** ''[[Clannad (
** ''[[
** ''[[Little Busters
** Key uses this trope so often that fans have started jokingly referring to any [[Soap Opera Disease]] as [[Memetic Mutation|KeyAIDS]].
* Yuzuha in ''[[Utawarerumono]]'', who is actually something of a [[MacGuffin]] - her brother Oboro's theft of the outrageously expensive medicine she needs to survive is the start of a chain of events which snowball into an international war.
* ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro
** It's later revealed that {{spoiler|Jessica partially ''faked'' some of these attacks [[Decoy Damsel|to make herself look more helpless than she truly was]], in order to distract her enemies. Pity it didn't always work.}} Ange counts, as her sickness is what preventing her from going to the 1986 family conference.
* Played with in [[Ef:
** In short: Chihiro is an
* ''[[Da Capo II]]'':
** There is a double example in one route: {{spoiler|Anzu. Said girl was the first to fall ill, then comes the protagonist boy's turn. They both spoon spoonfeed soup to each other when the other one lies sick in bed.}}
** In another route, there is [[Genki Girl|Yuzu]].
* ''[[Canvas 2]]'' gives the role to Tomoko{{spoiler|, but she stopped being one by the end of her route}}.
* ''[[eden*:
=== [[Web Comics]] ===
* Larisa from ''[[Sandra and Woo]]'' is, as a diabetic, on insulin, [http://www.sandraandwoo.com/2010/01/04/0126-secrets/ among other things]. "Cute" is not the right word to describe the [[Chaotic Neutral|chaotic]] [[pyromaniac]] [[Fille Fatale]] that is Larisa, though.
* Miho from ''[[Megatokyo]]'' is possibly {{spoiler|the in-universe [[Trope Maker]]}}.
* Puppet from the ''[[Whateley Universe]]'' subverts this through her caustic attitude, plus a learned snobbishness from her [[Rich People|upbringing]]. She definitely has it hard though, making her something of an [[Iron Woobie]].
* Mecha Maid in ''[[Spinnerette]]''.
=== [[Western Animation]] ===
* Parodied in the ''[[Animaniacs]]'' movie, where a sickly Dot needs money for an operation. At the end of the movie, it turns out that all the operation was was receiving a beauty mark to make her even cuter.
* Subverted on ''[[The Batman]]''. A scientist working for Wayne Industries claims to be studying bats so he can cure his niece's deafness. Bruce Wayne goes to see the girl and give her a hearing aid... and she turns out not to be deaf. The scientist was actually studying bats because he was obsessed with Batman, and he eventually managed to turn himself into "Manbat".
** This is the reason why Victor Fries, better known as Mr. Freeze, constantly has to commit crimes in most of his appearances in ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' and related media: His wife, Nora Fries, is suffering from a terminal disease, causing him to put her in cryogenic stasis until his research allows him to develop a cure for her ailment. Unfortunately, in order to do so, he ended up having to illegally appropriate research materials from Ferris Boyle, the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] of GothCorp, resulting in him being kicked into his own formula and deformed into Mr. Freeze. In his next appearance, he was taken by a deranged theme park person and has to help this person in exchange for allowing him to get Nora's miraculously survived cryogenic tank. He only stopped serving him when Batman points out that this is not what Nora would have wanted.
* Played straight in ''[[Jem and The Holograms]]'': In the three-part "Starbright" storyline, the Holograms keep on going with a movie shoot the Misfits have bought themselves into because they need money for an operation to save Starlight Girl Ba Nee's sight. Ultimately the production splits into rival films, and when the Holograms' is a hit, the money is raised and Ba Nee is saved.
* In the [[Christmas Special]] ''[[Santa Claus
* Janice, the main character of the ''[[Peanuts]]'' special ''Why, Charlie Brown, Why?'' She's a friend of Linus's who is diagnosed with leukemia.
** And also Lila, Snoopy's previous owner in
* Michelle from ''[[Once Upon a Forest]]'' becomes comatose after inhaling toxic fumes from a gas leak, and her friends have to search the wilderness to [[Find the Cure]].
* Pamela (aka Poison Ivy) in ''[[DC Super Hero Girls]]'' looks gaunt and sickly in her civilian identity, likely a result of her unbalanced and unhealthy diet which eschews fruits and vegetables of any kind. She looks far better as Poison Ivy, suggesting the change of identities is far more than a costume-switch.
=== Multimedia ===
* Maria Robotnik, in various ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' continuities. [[Dead Little Sister|Motivator of Shadow's actions after her death]].
=== [[Real Life]] ===
* Virginia Poe. Subverted in that 1) They knew exactly what she had, and 2) it was a foregone conclusion. (Debatably. Some say that if Edgar hadn't been such a starving artist, he might have been able to pay well enough to help her recover. As it is, she lasted '''years'''. This showed up a lot in his works as a result.
* The trope is ''very'' common among female Catholic venerables, blesseds, saints and visionaries. Some of them are:
** [[Waif Prophet]] and [[The Chew Toy]] [
** The aforementioned [
** [
** [
** [
** [
** [
** [
** [
** [
** [
** [
* Older example of sorts: Katsura Hoshino, the author of ''[[D
* [[Yuko Miyamura]] ([[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Asuka]], [[Kingdom Hearts|Larxene]], [[Berserk|Casca]]) had to temporarily retire from voice acting due to Graves's disease. She's back, though.
** Also, fellow seiyuu [[Motoko Kumai]] ([[Cardcaptor Sakura
** A third ill seiyuu is [[Tomoko Kawakami]] ([[Bleach|Soifon]], [[Shoujo Kakumei Utena|Utena Tenjou]]), due to ovarian cancer. [http://www.animenewsnetwork.
** [[Kotono Mitsuishi]] ([[Sailor Moon|Usagi]], [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Misato]], [[Shoujo Kakumei Utena|Juri]], [[One Piece|Boa Hancock]]) had to get her appendix removed by the end of the first [[Sailor Moon]] season, so fellow seiyuu [[Kae Araki]] [[The Other Darrin|replaced her temporarily]] as Usagi. This stunt later allowed Mrs. Araki to be casted as Usagi's daughter, Chibi-Usa.
* Eva Duarte de Perón aka [
* The Radium Girls, girls who painted glow in the dark watches with radium paint in a factory, some starting as young as 15. Upon realizing the they had gotten severe radiation poisoning, five of them sued their employers and became a media sensation in the 1920s.
* Mangaka Minami Ohzaki from Zetsuai1989, who had to completely halt the manga for years because of her health.
* Another mangaka, Kyouko Okazaki, became a horror version of this after being hit by a car in 1996. The poor woman had such injuries that she was left [[And I Must Scream|quadraplejic AND mute]], and she's still in rehab after almost 15 years. Her assistant [[Sugar Sugar Rune|Moyoco Anno]] (wife of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion|that]]'' [[Gainax|Anno]]) had to finish her horror manga ''Helter Skelter''.
* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXURnZ92cGM&feature=grec_index Esther Earl], an influential and inspiring Nerdfighter was one of these. She suffered from cancer for four years and died earlier this year (2010) at age 16. As you can see from her videos, she was as sweet and hopeful a person as any fictional example.
* [
* Sadako Sasaki was two years old when an atom bomb was dropped one mile from her home in Hiroshima. Her story was memorialized in the book ''Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes'', which was inspired by the belief that if a person managed to fold a thousand paper cranes, they would be granted a wish from the gods. She died at the age of 12.
== Male Examples ==
===
* Captain Jushiro Ukitake from ''[[Bleach]]'' may fit this trope. He's been suffering from tuberculosis all his life, which makes him spew blood if he exerts himself too much, turned his hair white, and causes him to spend most of his time in bed. (Although since he's over two thousand years old, it's obvious he isn't dying from it... Unless he's dying ''very, very slowly'').
* Oddly enough, Mai Tokiha's brother Takumi from ''[[
* ''[[The Prince of Tennis]]'' has Rikkaidai captain Seiichi Yukimura. Ironically, his slender frame and long hair [[Bishonen|give Yukimura an almost feminine outlook]]. {{spoiler|And when he gets better, he's revealed to be [[Yamato Nadeshiko|the gentlest, politest and more softspoken person]] outside of the courts... and a [[Knight Templar]] [[Magnificent Bastard]] [[Beware the Nice Ones|inside of them]].}}
** A further subversion is that Yukimura does in fact have a specific illness (Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disease of the nervous syndrome) which led to some fan complaints after {{spoiler|he recovered, [[You Fail Your Medical Boards Forever|because this condition is incurable.]]}}
Line 337 ⟶ 319:
** And his [[Ill Boy]] condition is spoofed ''mercilessly'' in the [[Fun Size|Chibi episodes]], where he collapses and dies every five seconds much to Sanada's despair. [[Say My Name|"YUKIMURAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!"]], indeed.
* Jun Misugi from ''[[Captain Tsubasa]]'', forced to withdraw from soccer because he's got a weak heart. {{spoiler|He ''partially'' gets better later. [[He's Back|He can play again]] after an operation, but [[Fragile Speedster|is frequently plagued by stamina problems]] and takes [[The Strategist|a strategist and Smart Guy role]] instead.}}
* Rosette Christopher's brother Joshua in ''[[Chrono Crusade]]'' was plagued by constant seizures when he was a
* Prayer Reverie of ''[[Gundam SEED Astray|Gundam SEED X Astray]]'', who'd almost count as a [[Littlest Cancer Patient]] if he weren't capable of hopping into a [[Humongous Mecha]] and kicking ass.
* Hayate Gekko from ''[[Naruto]]'', who looks pale and sickly and has a huge [[Incurable Cough of Death]]. {{spoiler|Again, he died, but his illness isn't the cause. [[He Knows Too Much|He heard the plans of Orochimaru and the Sunagakure people]] and paid for it.}}
Line 351 ⟶ 333:
* Kenneth "Ken" Robbins from ''[[Kaleido Star]]''. His dream was to participate in the Kaleido Stage as one of the acrobats, but since he got a weak heart, he mostly does staff job. Later in the series, he does some acting as well, but not with any life-risking acrobacies.
* Subverted in ''[[Code Geass]] R2''. Lelouch's opponent and later ally Li Xingke has an [[Incurable Cough of Death]] and might not live for long, but remains an excellent pilot and strategist. {{spoiler|He makes it to the end of the series, but it's hinted that he may have passed away after the Zero Requiem.}}
* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team]]'' has Ghinias Saharin as an ''Ill'' ''[[Mad Scientist]]''. A popular [[Fanon]] theory is that he has [
* Another adult ill boy is Kenshin's [[Big Brother Mentor]] Takasugi Shinsagu, from the [[Rurouni Kenshin]] ''Tsukiokuhen'' OAV. Based on the [[Real Life]] samurai of the same name, who ''also'' was an ill boy. Both were affected with tuberculosis. {{spoiler|Neither the real nor the fictional Takasugi lived enough to see the beginning of the Meiji restoration.}}
* Romeo's commoner friend Petruccio from ''[[Romeo X Juliet]]'', afflicted with what's all but stated to be turberculosis. {{spoiler|He dies in Romeo's arms in the same episode he's introduced. }}
* In ''[[
* [[No Name Given|Tomokane's older brother]] in ''[[
** He also [[Exploited Trope|exploits]] this trope to avoid punishment from, say, mentally bullying his sister as he's often seen to be too frail to be physically punished.
* Aslan Battour in the [[Backstory]] arc of ''[[
* Subverted and parodied mercilessly by the manga-only character of Densuke in ''[[Ranma
** Parodied earlier in both the Manga and the anime by the "ill boy" who insisted on keeping Genma (in his Panda form) as a pet. It turns out he isn't sick, just lazy (and spoiled.)
* In ''[[
** Also, for some reason, [[Ai Orikasa]] played two [[One
*** {{spoiler|Seiji Asou}} from the {{spoiler|Moonlight Sonata}} case used to be this as a young boy. In fact, when he was hospitalised in Tokyo, his family (including his father, a famous pianist) was killed in strange circumstances, related to the authorities from the island he grew up in and the shady dealings they had with his dad. For the rest of the story, see {{spoiler|[[Harmless Lady Disguise]]}}.
*** [[Child Prodigy|Hiroki Sawada]] of the [[Non
* Yoite of ''[[Nabari no Ou]]''. And ''[[Diabolus Ex Machina|how]]''.
* {{spoiler|Lasse Aeon}} from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00
* [[Dennou Coil]], which seems to enjoy gender-flipping a number of traditional shonen anime roles, has a sick boy in the form of Harakawa Kenichi aka "Haraken." He suffers from fainting spells and some kind of poorly-defined heart flutter that {{spoiler|may or may not have to do with his investigations into the mysterious Illegals.}}
* Arthur/England from [[Axis Powers Hetalia]] takes up the role briefly in the episodes featuring [[The Grim Reaper]].
** Also Antonio/Spain, when his economy is in a ''terrible'' state and he gets a cold because of it.
** According to [[Word of God]], Roderich/Austria spent some years in a wheelchair.
* Dr. Kuro Hazama aka [[
* Suzu's best friend Seishuu in [[The Twelve Kingdoms]] got a head injury as a little child, in the same incident with monsters that got his mother killed. As a consecquence, he sustained brain damage and suffers constant headaches. {{spoiler|He later [[Heroic RROD|goes blind as a side-effect]], which gets him killed when he cannot see a carriage going towards him and gets hit point-blank.}}
* Masataka's little brother Mitsugu from [[Sakura Gari]]. He has a weak heart, barely survives Spanish influenza, an later gets pneumonia. [[Butt Monkey|Ouch.]]
* Kyousuke Kamijou from ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' was a talented violinist who was involved in an accident, thus we meet him in the hospital and see that his arm was injured to the point that he won't be able to play anymore. The manga goes further by [[Good Scars, Evil Scars|directly showing his horrible scars.]] {{spoiler|Sayaka, Madoka's best friend who fancies Kamijou, becomes a [[Magical Girl]] and uses her wish to heal him so he can play again. And then [[It Gets Worse]].}}
* Sho from ''[[The Borrower Arrietty]]''. He tells Arrietty he has always been ill and can't play with other kids. The reason he is currently staying at his aunt's place is because he is getting an operation on his heart.
* ''[[
* Friederich {{spoiler|Brandel}} from ''[[Honoo no Alpen Rose]]'' {{spoiler|aka Jeudi's [[Disappeared Dad]]. In a subversion, a good part of his horrible health comes as a consequence of a terrible accident he was involved into... and he ''dies'' of it, pretty much right after having been reunited with Jeudi.}}
* Michio Yuki from ''[[
* Yayoi from [[Loveless]], which seems to be the result of severe athsma.
* ''[[Heartcatch Pretty Cure]]'' has a very interesting case - Itsuki's older brother Satsuki is a case of Ill Boy. With him sick, Itsuki's determined to take over their grandfather's dojo, leading her to become a [[Wholesome Crossdresser]]. It isn't until halfway through the series that Satsuki is cured, leading to Itsuki to start abandoning her role, accept more girlish things and, of course, be the [[Sixth Ranger|Third Precure]].
* A few characters in [[Another]] have this.Our protagonist,Kouichi Sakakibara has pneumothorax(collapsed lung),{{spoiler|and it makes him hospitalized for almost a month at the start of the story,making him misses his first day at [[New Transfer Student|his new school]] }},Ikuo Takabayashi has heart condition,{{spoiler|[[Killed Off for Real|and it takes away his life]]}},and Daisuke Wakui is asthmatic.
=== [[Comic Books]] ===
* ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'': Abraham Kieros was a Vietnam War veteran who ended up horribly crippled and pretty much abandoned in an hospital. Then, he takes a [[Deal
=== [[Fan Works]] ===
* In the ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' fanfic ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6245901/1/Three_Years_At_Sea Three Years At Sea]'', Zuko was "sickly" for most of his childhood, making him appear even weaker in comparison to Azula in his father's eyes.
* Lance Wabisuke-Hamilton from ''[[One Piece: Parallel Works]]'' has a mysterious illness that causes him to fall asleep at random times and makes him physically weak. However, [[Word of God]] states that Lance's condition is not life-threatning.
=== [[Film]]
* Chopin in ''[[Impromptu]]'', although during the period in which the movie's set he's only a bit delicate, not dying.
* [[Tombstone|Doc Holliday]] and his friends were aware of his terminal condition (and the audience was reminded with his [[Incurable Cough of Death]],) but it was less often cause for depression than morbid jokes and [[
* In ''[[X-Men (
=== [[Literature]] ===
* Holden Caulfield from ''[[The Catcher in The Rye]]'', who actually has tuberculosis.
* Smike in Charles Dickens' ''[[Nicholas Nickleby]]'' eventually dies of tuberculosis, although the disease is never explicitly named.
* Hello? [[A Christmas Carol|Tiny Tim]], anyone?
* While Robert Arryn of ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' is indeed ill, he subverts what you'd expect from the usual [[Ill Boy]] [[Kids Are Cruel|quite]] [[Spoiled Brat|completely.]]. Blame it on [[My Beloved Smother|his terribly overprotective mom]], huh.
** Also Bran Stark, severely crippled after being thrown off a balcony. And then he became a [[Genius Cripple]] and [[Waif Prophet]].
* Colin Craven of ''[[The Secret Garden]]'', who in the original is both delicate ''and'' a hunchback. Other versions change how exactly ill he is; the anime series removes his physical disability, but puts much more emphasis on the general bad health to the point that he's confined almost permanently to his bed {{spoiler|and is ''this'' close to die once}}.
* "The Boy" in ''[[The Borrowers]]'', to whom Sho of ''[[The Borrower Arrietty]]'' is based on, had rheumatic
* Big Eyes {{spoiler|(AKA He-Who-Hunts-With-Rose-Cub)}} in Marti Steussy's ''Forest of the Night'': Although not sickly, ''per se'', he has a congenital disability that makes hunting difficult for him. And despite his [[Genius Cripple|considerable intelligence]], this means that the rest of his [[Intelligent Gerbil|species]] is [[Blue and Orange Morality|fully willing to let him starve to death]]. {{spoiler|That's ''not'' what [[Tear Jerker|gets the poor little guy in the end]], though. ''[[Would Hurt a Child|Damn your hide]]'', [[Meaningful Name|Killer]].}}
* Tony Makarios from ''[[His Dark Materials|The Golden Compass]]''. His "illness" was that {{spoiler|he had been forcibly separated from his daemon}}.
* Callie's little brother Sam in ''[[
* Selma Lagerlof's "Thy soul shall bear witness!" has, aside of
** Also {{spoiler|David's younger brother Bernard, who also led an astray life and is dying of tuberculosis in prison, lamenting how he couldn't fulfill a promise that he made to a child. David, as the Death Cart Rider, promises to fill that vow and helps Bernard to die in peace.}}
* ''[[The Fault in Our Stars]]'': Arguably Isaac. {{spoiler|also, Gus, when his cancer returns. Also doubles as a massive [[Tear Jerker]].}}
=== [[Live-Action TV]] ===
* Ayase/[[Time Blue]] from ''[[Mirai Sentai Timeranger]]'' suffered from the incurable Osiris Syndrome throughout the entire series. {{spoiler|However, after time has been altered near the finale, a cure for his disease is found.}}
* Jayne Cobb from ''[[Firefly]]'' faithfully sends money home to treat his ill brother Mattie's damp lung disease.
=== [[Video Games]] ===
* ''Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice'' has a female character whose younger brother is an ill boy. And yes, there is a mysterious "operation" that can cure him, and this provides that character's main motivation. In a slight variation on the usual plot, the character's family is very wealthy and can easily afford the operation, but the Ill Boy is afraid to go through with it because it is reputed to be extremely painful. (Maybe the [[Magitek]] of the setting doesn't include anesthetic?)
* Despite being a genius-level [[Badass Bookworm|dark magic user]], Prince Lyon of Grado from ''[[Fire Emblem:
* In ''[[Fire Emblem Tellius
* In [[Fire Emblem Elibe|FireEmblem Sword of Seals]], the [[Spoony Bard]] Elphin {{spoiler|aka Prince Mildain}} has a really bad eyesight. {{spoiler|He once was poisoned to almost death, with said partial blindness as the only still remaining after-effect.}}
* Earlier than all of them, {{spoiler|Prince Yurius of Velthomer/Grandbell}} from ''[[Fire Emblem Jugdral|
* In ''[[
* Ion from ''Tales of the Abyss'' is known to have a weak constitution, and upon using a Daathic fonic arte, becomes weak to the point of collapsing. {{spoiler|This is actually because the Ion seen in the game is a replica of the original Ion, who died a few years prior. Doing things such as using fonic artes or reading the Score cause Replica Ion's body to degenerate.}}
* Emilio Juarez from ''[[Trauma Center]]: Under the Knife 2'', who is {{spoiler|one of the Sinners (read: tortured orphans used by the bioterrorist organization Delphi as lab rats) saved by Derek in the first game}} is seventeen, yet manages to be an excellent example of an Ill Boy all the same. If it weren't for all the "he"s and "boy"s used referring to him, though, it probably wouldn't be hard to [[Dude Looks Like a Lady|mistake him for a more traditional example of the trope]].
Line 431 ⟶ 408:
* Male lead Hisao from ''[[Katawa Shoujo]]''. While the girls are physically disabled but otherwise fine, he's got ''severe'' [[Heart Trauma|heart arrhythmia]] that almost kills him in the introduction.
** It doesn't do him any favors when [[Crash Into Hello|Emi runs into him in the hallway]], either, and keeps being a problem over the course of the game. {{spoiler|''Especially'' in Lilly's route, in which he has two major incidents... and a ''third'' on the way to the Good Ending that hospitalizes him again.}}
* {{spoiler|Ryou's [[Second Love]] Kappei Hiiragi}} from ''[[Clannad (
* Shiki Tohno from ''[[Tsukihime]]'' fits into the role in two different respects. The accident that didn't quite kill him still left him with poor health and occasionally life-threatening anemic attacks. On a more subtle but drastic level, his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception growing constantly stronger means {{spoiler|his lifespan is cut extremely short, and he's likely to die before long when his brain overloads.}}
* [[White
* Akinari Kamiki, the Sun Arcana from ''[[Persona 3]]'', whose days have been numbered ever since he was born. Developing his S-Lin is about having him learn to enjoy his last days of life. {{spoiler|He will die before the game is over, leaving the children's book he wrote with the MC's help and encouragemente as a [[Tragic Keepsake]], and if his link is maxed his soul will cheer on you before you take on Nyx.}}
=== [[Web Comics]] ===
* Parodied in ''[[Ansem Retort]]'', where Axel and Zexion deliberately infect Riku with AIDS to make him the poster child for their charity AIDS Aid.
=== [[Western Animation]] ===
* The plot of ''[[The Secret of NIMH]]'' revolves around Ms. Brisby trying to take care of her son Timmy, who has pneumonia.
* Played with often in ''[[South Park]]'' with Kyle. In the
** Strangely enough, usually averted with Kenny as he almost always died as a result of violent mishaps. The only times he succumbs to a disease when they nearly killed him off for real and an STD he picks up from the elementary school slut.
=== [[Real Life]] ===
* While not as common, the Catholic Church also has ill boys among their blesseds and saints:
** The aforementioned Blessed Francisco Marto, Fatima visionary. Died of Spanish influenza at age 11, along with his little sister Jacinta.
** Francesco Possenti, alias [
** [
* 19th century English poet [[John Keats]], who died at 25 from tuberculosis. This is also the point of a 2009 [[Jane Campion]] film, ''Bright Star'' with a [[Downer Ending]] because {{spoiler|Keats was engaged to his [[The Muse|inspirational lover]], Fanny Brawne.}} It also helps that the actor playing Keats, Ben Whishaw, is a [[Mr. Fanservice|19th century version of sex appeal]].
* King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, though he subverts the "cute" part since he was affected with leprosy and thus was disfigured. He still was crowned [[A Child Shall Lead Them|at age 13]] and grew up [[Guile Hero|to be a quite effective leader]]. His "[[Kingdom of Heaven]]" incarnation (played by Edward Norton) got [[Mask Power|a really cool metal mask]], as a part of his [[Historical Hero Upgrade]].
* As mentioned above, Polish music composer and piano player [
* [
* It's speculated that this trope is one of the reasons why [[Yoshihiro Togashi]] (husband of [[Sailor Moon]]'s [[Naoko Takeuchi]] and author of [[Yu Yu Hakusho]] and [[Hunter X Hunter]]) often takes long breaks in his work.
* Yukito Kishiro, author of ''[[Battle Angel Alita]]'' (also known as Gunnm), had to finish it much earlier than he thought because of his bad health and his unwillingness to have an [[Author Existence Failure]] happen. He got better, though, and restarted the manga once he was back.
* [[Formula One]] driver Gerhard Berger had a brief time as one in 1997, having to take at least three races (equalling to several weeks) out due to his health. For worse, that was the time when his father died too, causing him an [[Heroic BSOD]].
* [[Yoshiki Hayashi]] qualifies. As a child he was ill from his mother's difficult labor and crippling asthma. Eventually [[It Gets Better|he got better]] but then he's had everything from "neurocirculatory asthenia" to mental illness to physical damage from his intense drumming to hyperthyroidism...
* [[John F. Kennedy]]. He had Addison's disease ''and'' a crippling as well as very painful back injury coming from [[World War Two]].
** For [[Tear Jerker]] value, his son Patrick was born prematurely... and died two days after his birth.
* [[The House of Tudor|Edward VI]], the last Tudor King of England, was horribly ill with either tuberculosis or acute kidney failure for the last few months of his short life, and died at age sixteen.
Line 467 ⟶ 441:
* Robert Wyatt probably fits this trope, though to what degree (and more pertinently, what effect his paraplegia had on his music) is conjecture.
* Spanish [[Opera]] singer Jose Carreras had to temporarily retire due to leukemia. He got better.
* [[Teddy Roosevelt]] was an ill boy, spending much of his childhood bedridden. But then by sheer force of will and vigorous exercise, he ended up becoming probably the most rugged and [[Badass]] of all presidents. There was only ''one'' thing that stopped him: [[Dead Little Sister|the death of his son Quentin]] in [[World War
* [[Ringo Starr]] of [[The Beatles (band)|The Beatles]] was very ill as a boy, according to [[The Other Wiki]]. He contracted appendicitis, at six which put him in a coma, and had a bout with pleurisy at thirteen, which led to him being placed in a sanitorium. These setbacks led to many missed days in school, and his education suffered from it. He also fell ill during the Beatles' Australian tour of 1964, and [[The Other Darrin|Jimmy Nicol]] took his place temporarily. Later on, he had many allergies and sensitivities to food, and brought his own food with him to India in 1968.
* Japanese singer [http://www.animenewsnetwork.
* [[Noah Antwiler]] is currently this - in one of his video blogs from November 2010, he revealed that the reason his schedule has been slipping, and the reason why he looked so unapproachable during his E3 trip, was because he has a heart condition that was making him severely ill.
** And now his depression has his sleep cycle out of whack among other side effects. [[The Woobie|The guy needs a hug]].
== Mixed Examples ==
===
* In ''[[The Twelve Kingdoms]]'', the holy beasts named ''kirin'' choose [[Fisher King|each of the rulers]] for the realms. If said king or queen doesn't do well and the land suffers, they get struck with a fatal illness named ''shitsudou'', manifesting itself via [[Facial Markings]] and physical weakness that quickly kills them. Only the full redemption (which has never happened) or the [[Redemption Equals Death]] ( {{spoiler|Joukaku of Kei and Shishou of Sai}}) of the sovereign can save them from death. Kirins of ''both'' genders (Hourin, Kourin and Sairin are females; Keiki is male) have gotten it due to their masters's mistakes or madnesses: {{spoiler|Sairin and Keiki}} get better, {{spoiler|Hourin and Kourin}} do not.
=== [[Video Games]] ===
* The quarians from ''[[Mass Effect]]'' are an entire ''species'' of Ill People. Since their forced exile from their homeworld 300 years before the events of the games, quarian immune systems (which were already weaker than those other species) have deteriorated to the point that all quarians must wear [[Latex Space Suit|environmental suits]] at all times just so they don't die. ''Every'' quarian Shepard meets in the games—from [[Wrench Wench]] party member Tali'Zorah to [[Badass]] marine Kal'Reegar to the valley girl complaining about her boyfriend on Illium—is one suit breach away from potentially deadly sickness. That said, they don't appreciate the stereotype:
{{quote|"I'm not gonna die from an infection in the middle of a battle. That's just insulting!”}}
* The main characters of ''[[Narcissu]]'' are a terminally ill boy and girl. The prequel adds two more ill girls to the cast, one of them an [[Littlest Cancer Patient|eight-year-old orphan.]] And the third game... let's just say the whole series pretty much revolves around this trope.
=== [[Web Original]] ===
* ''[[Ilivais X]]'': Iriana Estchell fits the typical characteristics, but she's not ''exactly'' sick. However, she only has a handful of non-artificial organs and is very limited in the physical activities she's capable of doing, and will definitely go into a coma after five minutes outside. Why? Because she was made for the sole purpose of being the titular mech's pilot, without the intent of ever leaving it. Her body IS capable of regeneration mostly as a side-effect of her internal recycling so as to not require nutrients, but her source of energy is the mech. Without her battery, she's essentially immortal inside her Ilivais, but if she stays out too long, she'll eventually die.
{{reflist}}
Line 492 ⟶ 463:
[[Category:Women Are Delicate]]
[[Category:Older Than Radio]]
[[Category:
[[Category:
[[Category:Ill Girl]]
|