Believe it or not, humans have an amazing ability to empathize with other humans and reasonably humanoid equivalents, even fictional ones! A lot of it has to do with the kind of focus a character receives, be it a Sympathetic POV, with Pet the Dog moments, or any of the dozens of Characterization Tropes. Supertrope behind Conservation of Ninjutsu, Mook, Red Shirt. See also: Rule of Cool, Rule of Funny, Rule of Drama. Examples of Rule of Empathy include: