Examples from Anime & Manga
- Here's one courtesy of Death Note: what if a new serial killer arose, more prolific than any killer before him... and that killer turned out to be your son?
- Full Metal Panic: Played with in an episode of Fumoffu where Sōsuke is shown to be fearless, as he grew up in a war zone so simple things like haunted hospitals, ghosts, horrific screams, and spooky children with hammers don't faze him, yet he is afraid when he thinks that Kaname died falling through the floor.
- Grave of the Fireflies: with both Seita and Setsuko starving to death slowly after both of their parents die and their aunt shows that they are clearly not welcome in her household.
- Bitter Virgin: features the rarely brought up topic of miscarriage. It also features the life of a girl whose stepfather raped her while her mother simply ignored it, until the girl got pregnant for the second time.
- One Piece: Brook. In a rare case of a main character who was middle-aged in his flashback, instead of the usual childhood traumas we got the story of a parent/authority figure losing friends and loved ones to tragedy and bad decisions, finally ending up old and alone.
- Shanks, possibly the most easygoing character in the series, outright panics when Luffy is stolen out of his sight by a lowlife.
- Don't forget what happened to Boa Hancock and her sisters in their past. They were the youngest members of a Kuja ship's crew, and once their older shipmates and caretakers simply took their eyes off the three little girls for mere minutes... they were kidnapped and then sold into slavery. And it took them years to come back home.
- Sanji's backstory. Seeing a little kid stranded in the middle of nowhere while starving to death to the point that he is barely more than skin and bones...
- Monster: Johan will rape your mind, drive you to suicide, and smile through it all. It's even worse that he has no compunctions about doing this to children.
- Worse yet, Tenma has to not only live with the fact that Johan lives because of his own hand, but he is wanted by the police, as nobody except Johan's sister believes or knows Johan exists, meaning Tenma is suspect number one for the murders.
- Umineko no Naku Koro ni: Done in the fifth arc, with all of the Ushiromiya children except for Battler being killed off on the First Twilight. And then Battler in the sixth arc. Poor Rudolf.
- Game X Rush: it takes some time before you realize just how deep the backstories sink into this. Abandonment of a child, severe and prolonged physical abuse by foster parents, near-insane idolization of a psychotic "mother" who uses said child as an excuse to kill... And that's just one of the main characters. (The other involves severe and prolonged domestic abuse, accidental arson, murder of one parent in front of the child's eyes.)
- Franken Fran Chapter 29. Terrible, terrible Body Horror things happening to people, sometimes for no good reason: creepy. Terrible, horrible things happening to babies.
- Bokurano can be boiled down to this — Your child is going to die and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
- Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS' finale began with the simple yet real fear of losing your child because you were away when they needed you most.
- In Soul Eater, Medusa's method of resurrection. After Stein kills her, she morphs her soul into the form of a snake, and then proceeds to possess five-year-old Rachel Boyd with it. There's a full chapter about her and her family, and how poor Rachel's parents, who are completely powerless to stop her, react to the way she vanishes. Specially her mother, who's Forced to Watch as Medusa talks to her through Rachel and then disappears.
- The H-manga Defiled Virgin takes the fear of being sexually assaulted by bums and milks it for all it's worth.
- Higurashi no Naku Koro ni: Satoko's Evil Uncle Teppei. Made worse in Tatarogoroshi-hen by Satoko having Hinamizawa Syndrome.
- The older children are victim to this too. For example, imaginine your once happy child becoming withdrawn and paranoid—even violent—while you watch unable to do anything.. Then they probably die.
- The otherwise incredibly lighthearted Minami-ke does one in the last episode when they find what appears to be Kana's suicide note
- Invoked in Tiger and Bunny, since Kotetsu/Wild Tiger is a Hot Dad in canon and therefore he really hates the mere idea of children being in any kind of danger. Worse still, in the second episode his daughter Kaede ends up in danger, and Tiger is not quite quick enough to rescue her. Fortunately, Barnaby saves her life in the nick of time.
- Episode 15 brings a new Adult Fear for Kotetsu. Namely, the possibility of having a rare, progressive condition that will force him to give up what he loves most.
- Ivan is a teenager, but he still has to face the fear of not having been able to help his friend when he needed him the most. Now said friend, Edward, is a supervillain.
- And later, Barnaby has to face a huge adult fear: his parents' real murderer was... Maverick, his former Parental Substitute. So basically, during a good part of his life, he has been raised by the guy who killed his mom and dad, and a good part of his whole identity is based on lies.
- There is also the moment where Maverik pats Kaede's head. The simple idea of what he could do to her gave the fanbase itself a major freak out.
- Wolf Guy Wolfen Crest is insanely good at this. Stalkers, rape, violence, school shootings...
- Recently used in Bleach. One of Ichigo's biggest triggers is to see his friends and family in danger... And in one arc, his sisters and friends are trapped under the effects of Tsukishima's Mind Control. So he has to face a powerful and manipulative Magnificent Bastard who has inserted himself in his own life, his physical powers completely useless, and wounded where it hurts him the most. Understandably, Ichigo almost crosses the Despair Event Horizon, and it takes a massive intervention from the Shinigami to save him.
- Said fear was already shown in the first episode, when a Hollow broke into the Kurosaki household, injured his father Isshin who had lost his own Shinigami powers decades ago and almost killed his sisters Yuzu and Karin, alongside harming his newfound friend Rukia. [ Just look at Ichigo's horrified face when that Hollow holds the already injured Yuzu hostage.] And don't forget how he almost LOST it in the fourth movie, when Yuzu was killed and then dragged to Hell itself by Kokuto, and later Orihime cannot use her powers to heal her.
- Also, while Byakuya Kuchiki didn't look like having one of these as he fought Ichigo, the Soul Society arc turned out to be quite laced with this for him. He has to give up his only living relative, his sister-in-law Rukia, so she can be executed, as a way to uphold the law and the very high honor of the Kuchiki clan. And as he does so, however, Byakuya is breaking the promise he gave to his dead wife aka Rukia's dead sister, Hisana, who in her deathbed had made him swear to take care of Rukia. If he intevenes to save Rukia, his clan is dishonored forever; if he doesn't, he loses the last person close to him. Truly a "damned if I don't and damned if I do" situation.
- Imagine being unable to talk, smell, touch, or hear, and not having to rest. Then imagine yourself as the only life you find in an empty desert with eternal night and no stars. Doesn't help you can't remember who or what you were. Ulquiorra's first memories are this.
- In Project ARMS, even though the ARMS teens are all actually raised by foster parents, they still are treated like the parents' own children. These parents then get to watch their children be attacked, nearly killed, and then get told "Hey, we have to leave for awhile and may not live, but we love you!"
- In Fairy Tail, it's revealed that Ur had been told by some researchers that her Ill Girl daughter Ultear had died, when in reality, they kidnapped and experimented on the girl because of her magical power. Now Ultear is one of the villains, and for worse, she hates her mother Ur because she believes she abandoned her.
- Makarov, guildmaster of Fairy Tail, was forced to exile both his son, Ivan, and his grandson, Laxus, from his guild. Later on, he finds out that Ivan is planning to lure Laxus to his own guild so he can steal the dragon lachryma in his body, and it's heavily implied that doing so might kill Laxus. Seeing as how Ivan is a Complete Monster who only wants the lachryma for money and doesn't care what removing it will do to his son, it's not hard to see why Makarov looked so horrified upon finding out about this plan.
- Jude Heartfilia may count as well. Literally a few weeks after he reconciles with his estranged daughter, Lucy, and manages to get over the sudden death of his wife, who Lucy is the spitting image of, she and her friends are attacked by a monster and seemingly killed.
- Even worse when Lucy returns and finds out that he's been sending her birthday presents every year since her disappearance and then died a month before her return.
- In Ashita no Nadja, Colette Preminger experiences exactly the same fear when she wakes up from an illness-induced coma, only to be told by her retainers that her baby daughter Nadja had died of the same sickness that almost killed Colette herself. (Complete with a heartbreaking scene where Colette rushes to Nadja's wooden crib and finds it empty, collapsing in tears). In reality, Nadja had been sent away to an English orphanage to trick Colette into coming back home to her clan. And both mother and daughter only learn of the whole deal thirteen years later.
- The climax of My Neighbor Totoro has little Mei run away from home and get lost. The panic of her older sister Satsuki and the villagers is completely identifiable to any audience, especially when they find a little girl's sandal in the pond and believe that she's drowned.
- Vampire Princess Miyu has Miyu's mother, the Guardian, fearing the day when her child will be old enough to take her place. Specially considering that the ones who'll demand such a thing are the Shinma... who are mercilesss Eldritch Abominations.
- In Rurouni Kenshin: Ishin Shishi e no Requiem, Yahiko runs away to join the rebels that were trying to overthrow the Meiji government, since his father was an ex-samurai who died in a similar rebellion years ago.. Kaoru, having no idea where Yahiko had disappeared to, is frantic. When Yahiko is ultimately left behind by the rebels and comes back to the dojo, poor Kaoru greets him with a slap to the face and then proceeds to sob into him. Not to mention, Kenshin immediately tells Yahiko that, had Kaoru not slapped him, he would've done that himself.
- Don't forget the Jinchuu arc, which is an horrifyingly well-done attempt by Enishi to use this on Kenshin. So Kenshin wasn't able to protect his first wife Tomoe and the mere possibility of losing his girlfriend Kaoru terrifies him? Now Tomoe's vengeful brother deliberately exploits this fear to make Kenshin believe Kaoru has been bloodily murdered by him, thus making him revive these horrible memories. And Kenshin almost crosses the Despair Event Horizon after that.
- Chapter 501 of Naruto has Tobi threatening a newly born Naruto as an ultimatum to Minato and Kushina.
- In Zombie Loan, minor character Sougiya is a single father trying to pay off his contract to the Z-Loan. He knows that if he isn't able to keep his end of the contract, he will die and then no one will be left to take care of his young daughter.
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica. One girl gone missing, another girl found dead, and their friend is very troubled by all that but refuses any help. The mother of the latter is seen in the 11th episode, and doesn't cry because she tries to assure herself that the girl can probably handle the stress given enough time. But just imagine how powerless and desperate the mother must've felt, seeing her daughter grow distant and detached.
- Say, has your (insert: daughter, sister, niece, cousin, student, neighbor, etc.) been acting distant or evasive? Coming and going at all hours? Well, you'll never know it, but your precious little girl has made a Faustian pact and now has to fight Eldritch Abominations. And the day she never comes home, when you call police but her body is never found? She was either horribly killed by said creatures or she's become one of them herself.
- In Cardcaptor Sakura, if Sakura loses to Yue at the Final Judgment, everyone will lose their memories and the relationships they've built. It almost happens, too. Luckily, Kaho Mizuki comes to the rescue with her Shrine Bell, giving Sakura a second chance.
- In the anime, there's the episode in which, while catching a Clow Card, Sakura accidentally destroys her dad's laptop in which he had stored all the research he had being working for days without sleep. The whole scene is played in an actual heartbreaking way, as she realizes this is something she can't fix with magic.
- Sakura and Shaoran also get faced with this when the Clow Card search involves the safety and maybe the lives of their relatives and school friends. In example: Rika is Brainwashed and Crazy when The Sword takes control of her, Meiling finds The Shot thinking it's a love spell and releases it by mistake, Touya is seriously injured while interacting with The Mirror, Tomoyo has her voice stolen by The Sound and later is captured by The Shadow...
- And in the Grand Finale, Eriol invokes this deliberately when he puts a sleeping spell over the whole Tomoeda ward, and if Sakura and her guardians lose to him, everyone in their surroundings may be rendered into an eternal sleep forever.
- In Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni, Marie is sexually abused and blackmailed by her teacher, who tells her that no one would believe her if she told. And then said teacher murders her when she finally threatens to tell someone.
- Invoked in a flashback in Fruits Basket. Tohru's mother Kyouko comes from an abusive household where her parents heavily neglected her and kicked her out of home right before her then-counselor and later-husband Katsuya came to ask them for marriage approval, so once she finds out she's carrying a baby, she has a Heroic BSOD due to being terrified that her relationship with Tohru would go the way of hers with her own mother.
- For a double-hitter, while Kyoko is a good mother to Tohru, she dies not long before the series starts. Her last thoughts, as she lies bleeding to death in the road, are complete panic at the idea that her daughter will be left all alone and uncared for. This carries over to Hanajima and Uotani (who are Tohru's friends, but also act as surrogate parents at times), who are shocked to learn that while they thought Tohru was living with relatives, she'd spent a week living in a tent.
- There's also the massive amounts of child abuse in general, both physical and psychological. Most of the characters are able to escape or overcome it by the end of the series, but it's still horrifying, especially considering how well most of it is covered up.
- Lots of the episodes in Ghost Hunt qualify for this trope, but the one that most frightened this troper was "The Doll House" File. It turns out that the ghost haunting the house was a distraught mother who committed suicide after her daughter was abducted, and continues to search for her in death, causing the deaths of other children living in the home. It is implied that the abductor may have killed the child, but it is never actually confirmed. Also, the little girl currently living in the home is feared to have drowned, but luckily nothing bad ever happened.
- Even though Berserk is littered with this, one particular case pops up: that your closest friends and loved ones will backstab you for their own goals and dreams (and it's even worse when it's done on the Cosmic Horror Story level, which would be the Eclipse ceremony that marks the birth of a new Godhand). The backstabbing is pretty much enforced, since the person chosen to become a new demon has to sacrifice somebody that they love or care about. And you know what? It's all up to them. Remember that even though the Godhand are card-carrying gods of evil, they explicitly said at the beginning of the Eclipse where Griffith was chosen to become the new Godhand that they weren't going to force those chosen into making their Face Heel Turn: they had to decide in the end of course, in Griffith's case, there was a bit of "persuasion" on Ubik's part. That tells you something when you're playing the devil's advocate for a group of devils!
- Detective Conan has several things involving Conan or other children being in danger. Conan has been held at gunpoint or knifepoint by a murderer or taken hostage several times, and more than once said murderer would have no problem silencing Conan or another child for being witnesses.
- The Non-Serial Movie Phantom of Baker Street has the computer Noah's Ark taking fifty children participating in a virtual game system as hostages (where at least one child out of the fifty needs to Win to Exit or else, all of them die in real life) while forcing parents to watch as the capsule containing their child turns grey, signalling a "game over" for that child.
- The 15th movie has Conan being Buried Alive under an avalanche and everyone rushing to find him before he runs out of air.
- Also there's the fourth movie, Captured In Her Eyes, where Ran, the one who always takes care of Conan and Kogoro, is struck with Trauma-Induced Amnesia and can barely handle herself. Seeing someone who has always been there for you need help desperately, but you can barely do anything for them... ack.
- Not to mention there's the Murdered Stage Magician case. The victim's six-year-old daughter, whom the killer sort-of used to make the victim surrender to him so they could kill him? The little girl has disappeared. And the murderer is the one who has her. It's a BIG relief when said killer brings her back unharmed.
- Fantastic Children: imagine your 5-year-old child just one day disappeared without a trace and 6 years later his/her corpse was found amongst other children's. There have been many parents who had to experience this throughout history since the 15th century. In one of the recent cases of missing children the police refuse to pursue the case further and conclude that the child left on his own, using his then 3-year-old sister's words for their convenience.
- Now and Then Here and There showed us the dangers of a child left alone in a foreign land.
- Not touched upon often, in-series at least, but Wandering Son has a few examples. Imagine your 9 — 12 year old being out late, lying to you about where they've been, and being friends with adult strangers who you know little about. There's also the notion of your children being depressed and uncomfortable with their body but you knowing nothing of what to do.
- Another manga by the same mangaka had one scene where a guy who was obviously a pedophile is implied to have almost molested a 5 year old girl. Alas a teenager was in the area and the girl said a bit too loudly "Is just lifting up my shirt okay?", so he ran away.
- Pokémon occasionally relies on Adult Fear. Pokémon Special and Phantom Thief Pokémon 7 in particular prey on the "What if your young child is kidnapped and they can't be found?" fear.
- Pokemon Sun and Moon:
- While you're on the phone, your egotistical jackass of a subordinate summons the alien you're researching, only for it to attack and traumatize you beloved child you've unknowingly neglected, leaving her unable to touch the very creatures you love and want to protect. And you don't even learn this until your son tells you years later, when said jackass subordinate is trying to mind wipe your daughter who's only recently begun to get over her trauma
- Spirited Away has one scene where Yubaba frantically searches her son's room while believing he's been kidnapped.
- What about the humans? A ten-year-old girl gets trapped in a strange world, has her parents get turned into pigs and therefore be unable to help her, and then willingly sells herself into slavery for the chance to rescue them. Perhaps it's a good thing her parents never found out what really happened...
- Ryuunosuke and Caster in Fate/Zero are this trope incarnate. They're basically serial child murderers who like to give their victims a Hope Spot before brutally killing them. In one episode, you even see a memorial service for one of the victims, who happens to be one of the young Rin's classmates. It's just a single photo frame, and you hear someone mention that they coundn't do a proper burial because the body was too mangled. It gets so bad that, in-universe, a reward is offered to whoever can kill Caster first, and the entire Holy Grail War is put on hold until then. Cue nearly everyone doing an Enemy Mine to take these two down.
- Really, REALLY not helped by who *this* Caster really is. Take Our Word for It.
- In Kodomo no Jikan, despite all Reiji's faults, when Rin is in any danger, real or imaginary, he really freaks out. On the other hand, Reiji himself is no small cause of nightmares, with his disturbing and unhealthy interest in Rin.
- While it's generally Played for Laughs, it's heavily implied in Axis Powers Hetalia that the nations have no choice but to obey their bosses, meaning that the characters all live in a world where their best friends or even family members could turn on them in an instant. When the series was in its webcomic format, it was played very seriously in the story of China and Japan. China raises Japan and considers him a little brother, only for Japan to show up in the middle of the night and attack China with a katana. China has no idea at all this is coming, and is inviting Japan inside for some food when the blade is drawn.
- The core of Ayashi no Ceres is this. There's an Action Girlfriend who at first has a kind and endearing human husband. After receiving some of her powers on his own request so he can help her when in trouble, however, said powers turn out to be too much to handle. The formerly sweet Understanding Boyfriend becomes so obsessed with her that he starts restricting her behavior, like locking her in the house to prevent her from talking to men who aren't him, to beating her, forcing sex on her, and even going so far as to killing one of their kids out of fear that she would take her (Ceres) away from him (Mikage). Basically, this manga is a story of Domestic Abuse.
- Back to Adult Fear