Broken Bird: Difference between revisions

A subtrope of [[Troubled but Cute]], which sometimes they start as before [[Break the Cutie|becoming]] [[Break the Haughty|broken]]. Overlaps with [[Stoic Woobie]] and [[Jerkass Woobie]].

 

 

== Anime & Manga ==

* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'': Every one of the inner scouts feels like this or is this to different degrees. Ami's parents are divorced and she's shunned [[Intelligence Equals Isolation|for being too smart]]; Rei's mother is dead, her dad is a [[Workaholic]], and she's shunned for having [[Psychic Powers]]; Makoto's parents are BOTH dead and she's shunned for being a [[Delinquent]]; Minako depends on the canon, but even in the anime, she was treated poorly by her schoolmates AND had to defend the world alone for some time. Enter [[The Messiah|Usagi]], recruiting and befriending each one, giving them back their belief in [[The Power of Friendship]].

** As for Usagi, while she's normally [[The Messiah]], she approaches this in the live-action show and the manga. She ''kinda'' comes close in the ''Stars'' season of the anime as well, being a [[The Pollyanna|mild Pollyanna]] who acquires shades of [[Stepford Smiler]] because she doesn't want to make her friends worry over her. Ultimately, [[It Gets Worse]], {{spoiler|but after a huge [[Heroic BSOD]], she ultimately overcomes this.}}

** Subverted by Black Lady {{spoiler|aka the [[Brainwashed and Crazy]], aged-up Chibiusa}}. In the anime, she claims that her parents abandoned her and that {{spoiler|Luna-P}} is her only friend ever, and joins the [[Big Bad]] due to her pain over it. This is because {{spoiler|Wiseman has not only forcibly given her an age and powers upgrade, but has given her [[Fake Memories]] enhanced by his dark energy. She ultimately reverts to her original and non-broken self after either: an [[I Know You Are in There Somewhere Fight]] with Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon, who has temporarily transformed into Neo Queen Serenity (anime) or via witnessing Pluto's [[Heroic Sacrifice]] to stop Prince Dimando from destroying the universe (manga).}}

* Reki in ''[[Haibane Renmei (Anime)|Haibane Renmei]]'', complete with wings. Note that Fred Gallagher, the man responsible for ''[[Megatokyo]]'' and the title of this page, is an admitted ''[[Haibane Renmei (Anime)|Haibane Renmei]]'' fan.

** Balalaika. Oh ''God'', Balalaika. Thanks to the Afghan War, the cute teenager who wanted to become an Olympic marksman and make her family proud ended up as a cynical, scarred, and stylishly brutal [[The Baroness|Mafia queen]].

** Yukio Washimine sets out on the path to [[Broken Bird]]-dom in the "Fujiyama Gangsta Paradise" arc. {{spoiler|She never reaches it. She ends up crossing the [[Despair Event Horizon]] and kills herself in the end.}}

* Caren from ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'', first season.

* Jounouchi Sai from ''[[Kidou Tenshi Angelic Layer]]'', especially in the anime, where they [[Ascended Extra|delve into her backstory]].

* Once you see through her [[Magnificent Bastard|Magnificent]] [[Rich Bitch]] facade, you see that {{spoiler|Dorothy Catalonia}} from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing (Anime)|Gundam Wing]]'' is a really broken bird who has suffered a lot {{spoiler|after the loss of her father, General Catalonia, in the last war.}}

** Arguably, Lucrezia Noin and Lady Une are like this too.

** And from ''Episode Zero'', we have {{spoiler|Middie Une and Long Meiran.}}

* {{spoiler|Iserina Eschenbach}} from the ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam (Anime)|Mobile Suit Gundam]]'' TV series becomes this, after her boyfriend's death.

** Yumi is another Chobits example, but for an entirely different reason. She'd found out that her boss, the owner of the Chiroru Bakery, had once been married to a persocom who, entirely by coincidence, was also named Yumi, who tragically died after sacrificing herself by pushing her husband out of the way of an oncoming car. This made Yumi feel inferior and afraid of being compared to his wife. She forced herself to quit her job at Chiroru to avoid the pain of having to see him. This also eventually works out, thanks to Hideki.

* Both Kikyou (after being revived) and Kagura from ''[[Inuyasha]]''.

** Don't forget {{spoiler|every single member of Fate's "harem". They were all orphaned, shunned, abandoned, or abused in their war-torn pasts, hence why they adore Fate so fiercely...[[I Owe You My Life|because he gave them another chance to live]].}}

* {{spoiler|Princess Charlotte, aka}} Tabitha, from ''[[Zero no Tsukaima (Light Novel)|Zero no Tsukaima]]''.

** Misaki, despite also being the Token Loli of the series, also has some very apparent [[Broken Bird]] tendencies as well. She flinches noticeably when she presumes another character is going to strike her because of the fact that {{spoiler|she was forced to live with her abusive stepfather who constantly beat her}}, and she also {{spoiler|attempts suicide by throwing herself off the same cliff her mother did years before}}.

* Basically, all of the Orochi (male or female) in ''[[Kannazuki no Miko]]''. The qualification for joining the Orochi is having a troubled past, and all of the characters in the original Orochi have either been through wars, sexual abuse, medical testing, or other violent situations. Many of the characters compensate by acting strong or confident, however, it is revealed in later episodes how destructive their pasts all were.

** Also, Morgan Le-Fay from [[The Movie]], a fairy who was very embittered and sad {{spoiler|due to having failed to go through the Gate of Judgement with her loved one, who eventually abandoned her.}} As a result, she became the local [[Dark Magical Girl]].

* Maron Kusakabe/Jeanne from ''[[Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne]]'' became this because of [[Parental Abandonment]]. Because of their work, her parents often left her alone as a little girl, and it is implied that, even when they were home, they fought a lot. Before Maron was even in ''grade school'', they moved overseas for their jobs, leaving Maron behind, and at the start of the series, Maron hasn't gotten a single letter or phone call from either of them since. She hides her sadness most of the time, but the only reason she's anything resembling okay when the series begins is because Finn's around and she doesn't have to spend every night alone in her apartment any more, though having her best friend, Miyako, and her family right across the hall probably helps. [[Fridge Logic|(What the hell has social services been doing this whole time?)]]

* Utako from ''[[My Lovely Ghost Kana]]'' is introduced as this. The first hint she has moved into the apartment is sobbing from the shower. She comes to live there with nothing but her guitar and a suitcase, previously having been living on the street. In a bit of expository dialogue, Daikichi narrates {{spoiler|"Apparently while looking for work, she was led to an office and made to sign some contract written in some foreign language she had never seen before. And she hated it because she feared the big men and the cold showers and the dark little room..."}} However, [[Angst What Angst|she is trying her best to not dwell on her past]], and it's never brought up again other than a later thought that, because of her new friends Kana and Daikichi, she's "not afraid to live anymore."

* Suito Kusanagi from ''[[The Sky Crawlers]]''. Being the only one who {{spoiler|both knows that the Kildren never die, no matter how many times they are killed, and are condemned to follow the same meaningless actions forever, and actually cares, being one of them}}, has really screwed her up, despite her cool, professional demeanour.

* ''[[Bleach]]'': {{spoiler|Tia Halibel and her fraccion}} are implied to be this, especially in the anime.

** Also strongly implied in the cases of {{spoiler|Jackie Tristan and Riruka Dokugamine}} as well. It was soon explained that {{spoiler|Jackie came from a very poor family and her parents and little brother were murdered due to her father's involvement with the black market.}} Seemingly subverted in the case of {{spoiler|Riruka, who was a [[Spoiled Brat]] and, [[Kids Are Cruel|in her childish naivete]], didn't realize how badly her powers would affect the guy she had a crush on when she placed him inside her treasure box. Once she noticed, she let him go, and grew rather...bitter.}}

== Literature ==

* Number Six from ''[[I Am Number Four]]''. Especially in the sequel book, when she is promoted from an [[Eleventh Hour Ranger]] to one of the central characters.

* There are so many of these in the ''[[Gemma Doyle]]'' trilogy that it's like somebody gassed an aviary, then went inside and just started stomping.

* Melinda Sordino from ''[[Speak]]''.

* Both Arpazia and her daughter Coira in ''[[White As Snow (Literature)|White As Snow]]''. After her rape, Arpazia goes into lengthy trances where she forgets reality and her face is often described as an eggshell when she is being particularly stoic. Coira's only strong emotion was love for her mother until Arpazia wounded her. After that, she refused to feel much of anything.

* Pertelote in ''[[The Book of the Dun Cow]]''—and quite literally, seeing as she's a [[Talking Animal|hen]].

 

 

* ''[[Degrassi]]'' gave us Ashley (post S1), Liberty (post S6), and Jane.

** As of season 11, Bianca.

** By the end of Season 5, Sam was in a worse condition even though he seemed to be hiding it better than Dean. On top of everything above, the only hope to get rid of Lucifer and prevent the Apocalypse turned out to be for Sam to {{spoiler|[[Self Sacrifice Scheme|let Lucifer]] [[Fighting From the Inside|posses him]] so he could [[Heroic Willpower|condemn himself]] to an [[Fate Worse Than Death|eternity in the fallen angel's cage with Lucifer]]}}during the season finale, and he had to guzzle gallons of [[Psycho Serum|demon blood]] to do it after resisting his addiction for almost the entire season. And not even Sam believed he was strong enough.

* Morgana from ''[[Merlin]]''. If she had not been hurt, lied to, and ignored by the people she called friends, then she would not be where she is now.

** Deconstructed with her behaviour with Gwen, a guard and innocent people only (played straight for everything else, mostly in season 4), with which this trope is subverted. While {{spoiler|Morgana hurts the poor Gwen, her former best friend, because it is an easy way to attain her goal}}, [[The Stoic|Gwen ]] [[The Messiah|is continously generous to everyone]], and only betrays {{spoiler|Morgana after the latter tried to kill her (a thing she suspects because Morgana smiled when she was dragged to the cells where she should be imprisonned by Uther) to save her lover and her buddies}}. Gwen is tortured/looked down upon/neglegected by everyone except Merlin ({{spoiler|who remains oblivious to her crush on him}}), Gaius (who keeps her out of the way as much as Morgana when serious matters concerning her that Merlin must resolve arise), Arthur ( {{spoiler|who repeatedly breaks up with her because he thinks he must marry a princess and otherwise a noblewoman and thinks she cheated on him and banishes the poor innocent Gwen}}) and some minor characters, being lacking power because of her low social status. Yet, unlike initially [[Spoiled Sweet|kind and powerful]] Morgana, who arguably can only be furous and traumatized because of Merlin, Uther and (indirectly) Arthur, plus two minor characters and punishes poor {{spoiler|people who were indifferent/neutral in the conflict, and a guard who probably did horrible things, but was kind to her}}, she insists that killing Uther would make her as bad as him, even {{spoiler|after he menaced to burn her at the stake and condemned her father to be imprisoned}}.

* Sara Sidle from ''[[CSI]]''. Although she falls more into the badass version than the non-emotional one sometimes.

* Sue Ellen Ewing of ''[[Dallas]]'' counts; even if she hadn't married JR she probably would have ended up that way. But the cheating, drinking, and emotional abuse over the course of two insanely dysfunctional marriages seem to have done the trick.

* Abby Maitland of ''[[Primeval]]'' became this after spending a year stuck in the Cretaceous. At some point there, she hit the [[Despair Event Horizon]] and gave up any hope of returning home. While she was wrong, she retained her new, tougher, colder attitude. The only person she opens up to much anymore is her boyfriend, Connor, who was with her in the Cretaceous.

[[Stepford Smiler|I ain't that scarred when I'm covered up...]]<br />

I swore to God that I'd never be<br />

* The song "Broken Wing" by Thousand Foot Krutch is all about this.

* More than one [[Ayumi Hamasaki]] song has shades of this, made even worse by [[Lyrical Dissonance|the poppy, energetic tune.]]

* In the Addams Family Musical, there is a literal broken bird, at the hands of none other than Miss Wednesday Addams.

* In ''Vanities'', Kathy arguably becomes this after being [[Break the Cutie|jilted by Gary]]. Mary, with her [[Dark and Troubled Past]], also somewhat qualifies.

 

{{quote| '''Pent''': "She and {{spoiler|the King}} were ill-matched. She has suffered much. (...) Such a sad life"}}

** Believe it or not, {{spoiler|Serra}} is one of these too. Yes, ''that'' {{spoiler|Serra, the [[Genki Girl]] [[Rich Bitch]] who is actually a [[Stepford Smiler]] with a childhood full of abandonment, poverty, and pain.}}

** In the fourth game we have [[The Archer|Bridget of Jungby]], [[Dark Magical Girl|Ishtar of Freege]], [[Dragon Rider|Altenna of Thracia]] {{spoiler|(or, better said, of Lenster)}}; either {{spoiler|Tiltyu or Ethnia of Freege (by the end of their [[Kill the Cutie]] years}}); {{spoiler|Sylvia's daughter Leen, her [[Expy]] Laylea, Lakche's [[Expy]] Radney (but ''not'' Lakche herself) fit in as well. In the meantime Tiltyu's daughter, Teeny/Ethnia's daughter Linda, mix this with [[Shrinking Violet]], but ultimately they get much better.}}

** And the fifth game gives us, aside of Lady Evayle {{spoiler|aka the amnesiac!Bridget}}, Misha, Sara, Amalda and ''specially'' [[Fallen Princess]] Miranda of Alster:

** A borderline example: {{spoiler|Hellene's stepdaughter}}, Princess Guinevere from FE 6, though she manages to get better. {{spoiler|Cath the Thief}} and Brunya the [[Lady of Black Magic]] play it straighter when you learn about their backstories, though.

* In [[Fire Emblem Akaneia]], we have [[Dragon Rider|Princess Minerva]] and [[The Woman Wearing the Queenly Mask|Princess Nyna.]], and the remake adds {{spoiler|Katarina, aka Eine, who ''can'' get better if you manage to recruit her.}} (And {{spoiler|Eremiya, but ''only'' when we learn her tragic backstory.}})

** Aurica from the first game may also qualify, to some extent.

* Eleanor from ''[[Rule of Rose]]''. Complete with literal bird.

** One could probably argue that all the girls, and even guys, in the orphanage fit this trope.

* As with just about every other character trope in the book, you can play Commander Shepard as one of these in ''[[Mass Effect]]''. The prize for Broken Bird, though, has to go to Talitha, the slave girl you can rescue in the Colonist's optional sidequest "I Remember Me".

** ''[[Mass Effect]] 2'' brings us Jack: "Turns out, mess with someone's head enough and you can turn a scared kid into an all-powerful bitch." Besides undergoing the training to be a Biotic [[Tyke Bomb]], she's revealed the times she's been sexually abused.

** Shepard has definitely become this by ''[[Mass Effect 3 (Video Game)|Mass Effect 3]]''. Everything that s/he's experienced through all three games and his/her attempt to suppress those emotions for the squad's sake really begin to take their toll on him/her.

* Depending on your play style, the Lone Wanderer of ''[[Fallout 3]]'' may qualify.

* [[Emotionless Girl|Setsumi]] from ''[[Narcissu]]'', [[The Woobie|oh so very much.]]

* Anna Lin from ''[[Bliss Stage First and Final Act]]'' can be forgiven for her more [[Tsundere]] outbursts, given that {{spoiler|she saw her first crush ''die'' when that crush's [[You Lose At Zero Trust|ANIMa shattered as soon as it was manifested]] -- and THEN her first requited love made a [[Heroic Sacrifice]]}}.

* There's a few of them in the ''[[Tokimeki Memorial]]'' series. The most famous, [[Ensemble Darkhorse|and well-loved by the fandom]], is [[The Woobie|Kaori Yae]] of ''Tokimeki Memorial 2''. Other Broken Birds are {{spoiler|[[Alpha Bitch|Mira Kagami]]}} of ''Tokimeki Memorial 1'' and {{spoiler|[[The Mourning After|Hotaru Izumi]]}} of ''Tokimeki Memorial 3''.

* In ''[[Brutal Legend]]'', {{spoiler|Ophelia}} is broken by certain events (in addition to her dark heritage) so badly, her sublimated pain and sorrow become the second strongest boss in the game. She is fixed by the end of the campaign (though not quite, it seems).

* Samus Aran from ''[[Metroid]]'', even before her portrayal in Other M. Family and friends murdered before her eyes in childhood, adopted family either extinct or vanished from the universe. Where other people saw a cold, relentless bounty hunter carving a path through aliens, this Troper always saw a terribly lonely woman with nobody and nowhere to turn to, fighting an endless, solo war against the infinite evils of the universe with no end in sight.

* Male version: Fei Fong Wong from ''[[Xenogears (Video Game)|Xenogears]]''. The theme song "Stars of Tears" even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] this in the lyrics.

''This broken bird away it flies'' }}

* Haru from ''[[Devil Survivor (Video Game)|Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor]]'' is tough, edgy, and very, very fragile as a result of her childhood. {{spoiler|If the player does not choose her event to save her, she commits suicide halfway through the game.}}

* [[Ninja Maid|Ninja Maid Cecilia]] has shades of this in [[Vanguard Bandits]]. [[Multiple Endings|Whether she gets better or not depends on the player.]]

* Lulu from [[Final Fantasy X]], who starts off as a [[Deadpan Snarker]], although she later becomes a [[Defrosting Ice Queen]].

* Playable Caster ({{spoiler|Tamamo-no-Mae}}) from ''[[Fate Extra|Fate/EXTRA]]''. She is extremely cheerfully, more [[Genre Savvy]] than most otakus and her insanely cute 'mikuuun!' verbal tics doesn't help. However, has one of the saddest backstories in the entire Nasuverse: {{spoiler|she was literally divinity, but humans fascinated her so much that she threw everything away so she could go join them and help them in the mud, she lived to serve, to love them. What does her husband do? He sends an army to kill her when he finds out she isn't human. She spent three days fighting, killing and being bathed in blood in the field where she made her last stand. Every second of it was spent crying and shouting for her husband's forgiveness. Her biggest wish was to be the best wife in the world. That was thousands of years ago. It still is.}}

** {{spoiler|Leona Heidern}}, too. That's what happens to sheltered little girls after {{spoiler|their cursed blood is awakened forcibly and they end up [[Self Made Orphan|killing their parents]] [[Brainwashed and Crazy|under external influences]].}} Even after she's sorta [[Happily Adopted]] {{spoiler|by the local [[Colonel Badass]]}} and her partners become her second family, she's ''very'' badly damaged [[The Stoic|but doesn't openly show it.]]

** Chizuru Kagura was this too, due to {{spoiler|her twin sister Maki's murder and the heavy burdens that the Yasakani-Kagura-Kusanagi bonds bring to her.}} She gets better thanks to Mai, King and King's brother Jean, though.

* Lucy of [[Bittersweet Candy Bowl]]. It's only noticeable under certain circumstances, but ''wow''.

* Carmen of ''[[Ninth Elsewhere]]''; explained by her childhood.

 

 

[[Category:Sadness Tropes]]

[[Category:Broken Bird]]