Knight of Cerebus: Difference between revisions

** Admiral Akainu finally averts the "Nobody dies in [[One Piece]] outside of flashbacks" rule {{spoiler|by killing Ace.}} Blackbeard follows it up soon after by {{spoiler|killing Whitebeard and bringing about a new age of pirates.}}

* Transformers: [[Beast Wars]] II is an incredibly light-hearted show with hilarious characters, that hardly ever takes itself seriously. And its villains are no exceptions - Galvatron - the [[Big Bad]] is a narcoleptic who spends most of the show asleep, leaving his inept kid brother Megastorm to run the show with an effeminate [[The Starscream|wannabe]] (Starscream), a thug who can only repeat his own name (BB), and Beavis and Butt-Head (Thrust and Dirge) under his command. Cue the last 10 episodes of the show, where Galvatron wakes up, takes command, and we learn that he has a gigantic [[Doomsday Device]] en route to Gaia, which he intends to use to destroy the whole planet and siphon the Anglomois energy. And then things go grimdark... Gigastorm (Megastorm after his makeover) is fatally wounded and dies in Galvatron's arms, and the whole series ends with {{spoiler|all the Maximals sacrificing themselves to destroy the Nemesis, in the end flying up to 'robot heaven'. Granted, Beast Wars Neo retcons this.}}

* Much like it's [[Spiritual Successor]] ''Claymore'', ''[[Berserk]]'' is nothing short of a [[Dark Fantasy]] series. However, the TV series is considerably [[Lighter and Softer]] than its manga counterpart, so for the majority of the [[Pragmatic Adaptation|TV series']] run, it was basically composed of Guts and Griffith talking about dreams and ambition, the Hawks battling the Tudor Empire for the Kingdom of Midland and a bunch of political stuff, and developing characterization that wasn't derailed by [[Adaptation-Induced Plothole|Adaptation Induced Plotholes]] or [[Adaptation Explanation Extrication]]. But when Nosferatu Zodd was introduced with his prophecy halfway through the series, followed by the introduction of the [[Big Bad Duumvirate|Godhand]] toward the end {{spoiler|especially the transformation of Griffith}}, we knew that this series was going to [[Downer Ending|end on a bad note.]]

* Over the course of the first half of ''[[Mon Colle Knights]]'', the heroes had no problem repeatedly beating back the [[Laughably Evil]] [[Villains Out Shopping]] Count Collection, Bacchi, and Guuko. Then [[Anti-Villain|Dark Angel Zaha]] shows up and turns some of the heroes' monster friends against them by brainwashing them. And if that's not enough, there's [[Big Bad|Reda]], a [[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] Dark Angel who is so powerful that even Shiru has problems with him, and he {{spoiler|actually plans to use the Monmon Items to summon Oroboros so he can have it [[Omnicidal Maniac|warp all life into a formless existence, with him as the omnipotent center of time and space]]}}. [[Oh Crap]]...

** Christopher's real dark moment is after his replacement wife tells his rebellious daughter Columbia to follow her dreams of becoming a successful woman rather than a housewife. He takes Columbia away in his car (off-camera) and forces the replacement wife to promise to not influence Columbia; when Columbia comes back, she's been brainwashed by Christopher into not only giving up her dreams and becoming a housewife, but also believe that the replacement wife was trying to manipulate her.

** At the end, it's revealed that neither family learned anything (although the other family was nowhere near as screwed up as the Childs') and have come off '''worse''' as a result due to Mrs. Childs' rules being horrible and Columbia being successfully brainwashed.

 

== Theater ==

* {{spoiler|Henry}} in [[No More Heroes]]. At the game's halfway point of the fifth ranked fight, things have already been getting darker with Travis actually feeling remorse for the last ranked assassin he fought. Then you notice a trail of blood on the street, leading to a long tunnel to the next fight...where someone is constantly just out of your reach. When you actually reach the next fight, {{spoiler|Henry jumps out of nowhere and murders Letz Shake with a single slash, and it is hinted that Sylvia knows who that was}}. It is at this point where No More Heroes goes from dark comedy to constantly unsettling, with the calls for money becoming more demanding and {{spoiler|a major supporting character being killed off}}. The game is quietly telling you and Travis that you have gone down a very dark path, and there's no getting off anymore. There's someone waiting for you at the finish line as well, and you have seen what {{spoiler|he}} can do first hand already.

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword|The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword]]'' takes a somewhat more balanced approach with the franchise, using dark elements but also lighter moments within the same game, and also lampshading the series' traits, but whenever Ghirahim appears, the game makes a big change in tone, becoming much more serious. {{spoiler|His owner, Demise, isn't much better}}.

 

== Web Animation ==

*** {{spoiler|In the season finale, he's no longer a [[Villain with Good Publicity]] now that he's exposed. That also means he won't hold back.}}

* In ''[[Codename: Kids Next Door]]'', while it has some pretty dangerous villains (like [[Big Bad|Father]] and several former allies), they have some [[Laughably Evil]] traits while still bringing hard stuff. Then there's [[Bigger Bad|Grandfather]], a [[Complete Monster|monster]] of such horrible caliber whose plan is the most evil ever seen in the show, and is the only villain with no [[Laughably Evil|funny]], [[Freudian Excuse|sympathetic]] or [[Pet the Dog|redeemable]] features at all.

* In the first ''[[The Jungle Book (Disney film)|Jungle Book]]'' film, [[Big Bad|Shere Khan]] didn't come in until the final act of the movie. And when he did appear, things took a turn for the darker, particularly where [[Disney Death|Baloo was concerned.]]

** This is somewhat more subtle in the original film, where both he and Kaa are [[Laughably Evil|somewhat comical yet legitimately threatening antagonists]] (even though Shere Khan quickly proves to be the most fearsome of the two face to face). The sequel however plays this [[Up to Eleven]], desposing of most of Shere Khan's whimsical aspects and making Kaa more into an ineffective [[Butt Monkey]].

* Sideshow Bob from [[The Simpsons]]. In most of his appearences he attempts to ''kill' Bart ( ''10-year old boy'') or Krusty The Clown and his actions are played seriously and episodes become more intense and dark when he appears.

** [[Big Bad|Mr. Burns]] also qualifies, at least in seasons 1-8. While he does have some comical traits and funny quirks, the episodes with him are more serious and dramatic than any other episodes and his actions are played seriously. Most notable examples are "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" two-parter, where he screws over all other characters and finally [[Moral Event Horizon|blocks all the sunlight from Springfield]] and this was so evil that [[Even Evil Has Standards|his loyal doormat Mr. Smithers objects to this]] and all of his actions are played seriously and episode is dramatic and intense, not to mention that it is the ''only'' ''two-parter'' episode in the series; ''The Curse Of Flying Hellfish'' where he crosses [[Moral Event Horizon]] by attempting to [[Would Hurt a Child|drown Bart]] and in "Mother Simpson" where he worked on biological warfare and made Mona Simpson, Homer's mother, run from the law and hide from the rest of her life, meaning that Mr. Burns is responsible for Homer losing his mother and setting some of the series plots in motion.

** The series had few villains who have no funny quirks and are played seriously to the point of going into Complete Monster territory. Examples include the winemakers from "The Crepes Of Wrath", who treated Bart like a slave and nearly killed him by giving him antfreeze-laced wine, the Babysitter Bandit from "Some Enchanted Evening" (who tied up the kids and tried to rob the house) and Bart's [[Sadist Teacher|kindergarten teacher]] from "Lisa's Sax" (whose treatment of Bart made him considered '''''suicide''''', when he was just a '''''five year old boy''''' and made Bart what he is today).

* [[Wallace and Gromit|Pie]][[Complete Monster|l]][[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|la]]. She murders twelve bakers, and plans on making Wallace her thirteenth. This was because she ''hated'' bakers.

* ''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]'' gives us [[Bastard Boyfriend|Mad Dog]]. He abuses Bunny to the point where he buries her up to her neck in dirt when she tried to escape, he tried to drive her and Courage down with his car, and most importantly, he somehow caused Kitty to be convinced that all dogs were evil. And that, like [[Complete Monster|Katz]], he's played dead seriously, and that he almost resembles a real life abuser.

** Katz himself should not be overlooked as well. Whereas the general series dealt with courage battling monsters and whatnot, at least they had some light-hearted tones in those episodes. Katz starkly contrasts these themes as He's essentially [[Ax Crazy]] [[Serial Killer]] played completely, horrifyingly, and competently straight. Courage usually struggles in the episodes he's in, nearly getting killed twice.

 

== Other ==