Lighter and Softer: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
[[File:Diablo1-3 sm.jpg|link=Diablo (series)|frame| "You maniacs! You ruined it!"]]
 
 
{{quote|''"We're gonna fly to school each morning, we're gonna smile the entire time,''
''We're gonna be more happy, we're gonna finally be fine!''
''We're gonna get more calm and normal, we're gonna fix our state of mind,''
''We're gonna be less crazy, we're gonna finally be fine!"''|''[[Community]]'', [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT89wX6_Fig Season 3 opening]}}
|''[[Community]]'', [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}nT89wX6_Fig Season 3 opening]}}
 
 
The [[Different As Night and Day]] twin of [[Darker and Edgier]], when something is [[Tone Shift]]ed to be more kid friendly and frothy than the original source. This can either happen to a show over time, or it can be the result of [[Disneyfication]]. It may also be done purposefully if it's felt that the series has been getting overly dark. Thus, a Lighter And Softer installment may often follow one which made a point of being Darker And Edgier. Finally, if an adult or more serious TV show or movie has a spin-off aimed at children, this can be the result.
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Compare [[Bowdlerise]], [[Disneyfication]], [[Menace Decay]], [[Sequel Difficulty Drop]], [[WAFF]].
{{examples}}
 
{{examples}}
== Anime & Manga ==
* The three [[OAV]]s of ''[[Gunsmith Cats]]'', in addition to telling their own storyline rather than risking trying to adopt the manga storyline, also toned a lot of things down. May Hopkin's status as an underaged child prostitute and her [[Fantastic Arousal|sexual fetish for explosions and the scent of gunpowder]], Rally Vincent's tendency to stop her opponents by blowing off their [[Fingore|fingers]] or arms, the firepower of May's handgrenades, the general copious amounts of death, all of it went out the window. It is still pretty violent, though.
* ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' is considerably lighter and softer than the games, which are slowly growing [[Cerebus Syndrome|darker and darker]] as they go on. Some dark elements still show up on occasion though, especially in the movies. In the show itself, they just don't stick very long.
** Example A: Team Galactic, a ''very'' dark, sinister villain group from the video game, show up in the ''Diamond/Pearl'' series....in just 10 episodes out of ''191''.
** Example B: Due to [[Too Soon|trauma stasis]], the two episodes involving [[Pokémon Black and White|Team Plasma]] fighting Team Rocket and creating mass destruction in Castelia City remain in [[Development Hell]]. Then again, ''Black and White'' is still young, so the possibility of them airing remains.
* The anime adaptation of the original ''[[Slayers]]'' novels has its fair share of emotional turmoil and grisly moments (enough to be [[Executive Meddling|denied the right to air on the old Fox Kids network]] back in the late 90's, believe it or not), but in general it is much lighter in tone and sillier (replacing the female protagonist's [[First-Person Smartass]] humor from the novels to slapstick). Also, the character [[Exclusively Evil|Xellos]], an [[Affably Evil]] demon-priest, is far more sadistic in the novels, whereas his affably-evil attitude in the anime makes him comical. A story involving a cult supporting the world's [[Big Bad]] was also never bought into anime form.
** Most of the manga and video games that followed are also this trope.
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* ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' does this for all of history.
** The anime took it even further.
** In-universe, the character of Russia has gone from a [[Stepford Smiler]] [[Yandere (disambiguation)]] to a pretty harmless [[Adult Child]] over the course of the series.
* Most anime adaptations of [[Osamu Tezuka]]'s manga get this, as most of the great man's work, while having a generally cartoony look & feel with an uplifting message, still involved copious amounts of death and destruction (''Lost World'', one of his earliest forays into the world of boys' adventure stories was infamous at the time for having the highest body count of any manga up to that point, with only three members of the cast surviving to the end of the book). In more recent years this has started to swing the other way, though (the ''[[Metropolis]]'' animé is far more bloody than the original, and the 2003 ''[[Astro Boy (anime)|Astro Boy]]'' series' version of Dr. Tenma takes the [[Evilutionary Biologist]] gimmick that was only briefly touched upon in the manga and turns it up to 11).
** In light of this, it is interesting to consider ''[[Astro Boy Omega Factor]]'' for the GBA. The first half of the game shows the world growing steadily [[Darker and Edgier]]; the second half is Astro ''making'' things lighter and softer.
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** Though in reality it's only slightly Lighter and Softer than some of the SDGundam stuff that preceded it...
** Both ''[[Mobile Fighter G Gundam|G Gundam]]'' and ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ|Gundam ZZ]]'' were created intentionally this way as lighthearted breaks from their grim predecessors ''[[Zeta Gundam]]'' and ''[[Mobile Suit Victory Gundam|Victory Gundam]]''.
* ''[[Stitch!]]'', the anime adaptation of ''[[Lilo and Stitch (Disney film)|Liloand Stitch]]'' and ''[[Lilo and& Stitch: The Series]]'', is not just more lighthearted than the originals, but also replaced the human characters, and is possibly an alternate version of the series entirely.
* Though not a real case, ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' is considered to be this for ''Dragon Ball Z'' among those who didn't know it came first. Ironically, the ''[[Dragon Ball]]'' manga is rated T for teen while ''[[Dragon Ball]] Z'' is for all ages.
** Granted violence isn't the worst part of ''Dragonball'', which contains more inappropriate elements than Dragonball Z.
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* In the original ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh]]'' manga, Yugi once had someone who had a gun to his face set himself on fire and kill himself. Joey (Jonouchi) was involved in a vicious street gang, that beat the crap out of him, and almost murdered him and Yugi. Tea (Anzu) was almost blown up by a terrorist. People got into vicious fights. People got offed now and then. In later adaptations of the franchise, everybody just [[Serious Business|plays cards]].
** ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh GX]]'' is Lighter and Softer than its predecessor up until season 3.
* ''[[Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya|Fate Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya]]'' is a ''[[Magical Girl]]'' manga set in an [[Alternate Universe]] ''[[Fate/stay night]]'', a universe where none of the main characters have surviving parents, siblings often attempt to murder each other out of jealousy, and Ilya {{spoiler|is a [[Not Growing Up Sucks|nineteen year old homonculus who looks ten]], and will die of [[Clone Degeneration]] before she is twenty}}. She also has an odd sorta sexual/mostly familial relationship with her stepbrother Shirou. In ''[[Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya|Fate Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya]]'', everybody's parents are still alive, Ilya is a normal thirteen year old with the expected life span, and evil is defeated by turning into [[Magical Girl|magical girls]] using Zelretch's Kaleidostick. Incidentally, Ilya still has an odd sorta sexual/maybe family relationship with her stepbrother Shirou. [[Chick Magnet|This is probably Shirou's own fault.]]
** Not quite to the same degree, but the manga adaptation of ''[[Fate/stay night]]'' itself is leaning in this direction. It was already focusing mostly on the 'Fate' route of the visual novel, which is notable for being the most idealistic of the three routes, but then went even further by {{spoiler|removing the multiple rapes and other trauma in Sakura's backstory, and humanizing and sparing the life of Shinji.}}
** Meanwhile, ''[[Fate/hollow ataraxia|Fate Hollow Ataraxia]]'' acknowledges that all the [[Fate/stay night]] stuff happened. It just doesn't dwell on it.
** And now we have ''[[Carnival Phantasm]]'', which is a straight-up [[Gag Series]].
* As both series are intended to be comedies to the core, it would be inaccurate to claim that either version of ''[[Ranma ½]]'' is [[Darker and Edgier]] then the other. The anime version can still be seen as Lighter and Softer then the manga. Not only does it lack|Fate Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya the somewhat darker storylines that the [[Rumiko Takahashi|author]] created after the anime was cancelled... which includes, among other things, a [[Villain of the Week]] whose father was technically killed by ''Genma'', Ranma meeting his mother—and then being threatened with [[Seppuku]] because [[Jerkass|Happosai]] dressed him in girl's clothes, Ranma being trapped in female form by a group of more powerful and much more vicious martial artists, and Akane being kidnapped, near-drowned and then changed into a doll, an almost fatal experience, over Jusenkyo... but also removes several of the more [[Comedic Sociopathy]] moments from shared storylines. Examples of this include Akane's viciously vindictive speech to Ranma after the first Nekoken incident, Happosai's attempt to murder what he believes is baby [[Embarrassing First Name|Pantyhose]] [[Arrogant Kung Fu Guy|Taro]] because he thinks Taro will become an even better [[Panty Thief]] then himself, and the ending of the Hypnotic Mushrooms story, which in the anime ends with a gag and in the manga ends with Akane surrounding herself with weapons to use against Ranma if he "tries something" while Ranma gives her a [[Deadpan Snarker]] response.
* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha ViVid|Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Vi Vid]]'', which is in sharp contrast with the [[Darker and Edgier]] ''[[Nanoha Force]]'', the other Season 4 manga of ''Nanoha''. To start with, there are no villains after two volumes, with the closest one being Einhart Stratos, who quickly became a more friendly rival after her first appearance ended with her getting [[Defeat Means Friendship|befriended]]. No looming threat to [[The Multiverse]], no undercurrents of a [[Government Conspiracy]], just Vivio having fun with her friends, joining a magical combat sports tournament, and maybe rekindling a [[Reincarnation Romance]] [[Girls Love|with Einhart]].
* The first manga adaptation of ''[[Darker Thanthan Black]]'' has much more stylized and less detailed art, a significantly less dark storyline, and does not share the original's [[Deconstructor Fleet|determination to find every trope it can and kill it]]. The [[Properly Paranoid]], [[Stoic]], [[Badass]] [[Anti-Hero]] lets someone who knows who he is go back to her everyday life even though his survival hinges on maintaining his secret identity, the [[Differently-Powered Individual|superpowered]] [[Lack of Empathy|sociopaths]] are less involved in the plot than a former test subject with normal emotions and no [[Power At a Price|remuneration]] whose main motivation is love, [[Generic Cuteness]] is in effect to such a degree that some characters are hard to recognize, and male characters who were [[Mr. Fanservice|already attractive]] were turned into [[Bishonen]]. Somebody coming to the main series or [[Interquel|second manga]] from this is going to be ''[[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique|v]][[No-Holds-Barred Beatdown|e]][[Mook Horror Show|r]][[Combat Pragmatist|y]]'' [[Dark and Troubled Past|s]][[Child Soldiers|u]][[The Corps Is Mother|r]][[Phlebotinum War|p]][[The Man Behind the Man|r]][[Punch Clock Villain|i]][[Gray and Grey Morality|s]][[A World Half Full|e]][[Overly Long Gag|d]].
* Japanese fans of ''[[Lupin III]]'' were quite nonplussed when ''[[The Castle of Cagliostro|The Castleof Cagliostro]]'' hit theaters, as Miyazaki had made the normally-obnoxious Lupin and his cohorts unrecognizably ''nice''. The film originally flopped at the box office. It took the passage of years, and fans who were able to see the movie on its own merits, for it to gain the popularity and critical acclaim it has today.
* The ''[[Getter Robo]]'' 70's anime series removes the batshit insane elements the original manga had. Ryouma becomes a virtuous, [[Hot-Blooded]] straightforward hero, while Hayato becomes the archetypical 'cool guy' loner... all in high school setting. They're still [[Hot-Blooded]], though. But just try to compare that version to the latter closer-to-manga versions (Shin vs Neo, Armageddon, NEW)... where they're both [[Ax Crazy]] [[Sociopathic Hero]]es with the side order of [[Hot-Blooded]].
* The 1972 anime adaptation of ''[[Devilman]]'' was considerably Lighter and Softer in comparison with the original manga: Lots of changes to the story were made, the violence and nudity were considerably toned down, comic relief was included, and the most of the character who{{spoiler|died at the end of the manga are still alive in the last chapter of the first anime series, which also has a [[Bittersweet Ending]] instead of the tragic conclusion of the manga.}}
* ''[[Soul Eater]]'''s sidestory manga from the same mangaka ''[[Soul Eater Not!]]'' appears to be a twist of this from the first three chapters. It is focused on a period prior to Sid becoming a zombie (an event from Chapter 1 of the manga) and looks at how new normal academy students (instead of how badass seniors) fit in. Along with how students can raise money, waste money, get their names (Eternal Feather for example) and live in academy quarters.
* ''[[Inuyasha]]'': In the manga, [[Master Poisoner|Mukotsu]] [[Attempted Rape|attempts to rape]] [[The Heroine|Kagome]]. The anime tones this down by having Mukotsu attempt to force Kagome into a marriage with him.
* In the ''[[Mai-HiME (manga)|Mai-HiME]]'' manga, the only person who dies at any point is an [[Asshole Victim]] who previously tried to sexually assault Shiho. After the characters work through their competing approaches to fighting Orphans in the first arc, they work together against common enemies, instead of being [[Let's You and Him Fight|manipulated into fighting each other]] like in [[MaiMy-HiME|the anime]]. The characters also suffer significantly less emotional trauma than they do in the anime. A notable example is that Akane is able to win her fight and profess her love to Kazuya without {{spoiler|her CHILD (and Kazuya by proxy) being killed and her descending into insanity}}.
* The ''[[Mai-Otome (manga)|Mai-Otome]]'' manga is similar, with Nina remaining emotionally stable and loyal to the heroes the entire time, largely related to {{spoiler|Erstin}} surviving, and Arika and Mashiro never quite sink to the depths of despair that they do in the darker parts of the anime. On the other hand, [[Death by Adaptation|several characters who survive the anime are killed off]], and {{spoiler|Sergay}} is a [[Complete Monster]] who is arguably more evil than the Otome anime version of Nagi.
** The ''[[Mai-Otome]]'' anime can also be considered this in comparison to the ''[[MaiMy-HiME]]'' anime, as while the story is, in the best of times, more serious, it never seems quite as dark or hopeless, and there are fewer character deaths, although they are more often permanent.
* The anime adaptation of ''[[Rosario + Vampire]]'' definitely is this. It cuts out most of the darker story arcs that crop up later in the storyline, while considerably softening many of the earlier ones, and generally portraying a lot of antagonists as less evil than their manga counterparts. For example, the [[Attempted Rape]] element of Mizore's introductory art was removed completely, while Ruby's master Yukata, a notable [[Knight of Cerebus]], was reduced to a tragic [[Posthumous Character]]. Finally, Tsukune's ghoul transformation, a major contributing factor to the series' [[Cerebus Syndrome]], was ignored completely.
* The ''[[Black Jack]]'' TV anime series adapted stories from the manga, but occasionally removed some of the downer material.
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== ComicbooksComic Books ==
* ''[http://www.spawn.com/features/series30/comic/ The Adventures of Spawn]'' is an online comic series designed to turn [[Spawn]] into a kid-friendly property. Yes, the military assassin who died and went to Hell, then made a [[Deal with the Devil]] in order to return to Earth. That Spawn.
* [[Spider-Man]], [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|The Avengers]], [[Fantastic Four (Comic Book)|Fantastic Four]], [[Incredible Hulk]], and [[Iron Man]] all have kiddified, self-contained stories in the ''[[Marvel Adventures]]'' line. In ''Marvel Adventures'', the heroes tend to be friends, everything works out predictably, and there are a few meta comments on the storylines in the "main" series.
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** What's ironic is that the Mini Marvels comic strips included at the end of the mainstream Marvel universe actually ''parodies'' the shallowness and silliness. The Mini Marvels strips point out how the stories taken seriously are [[Narm|much more ridiculous]] than their Lighter and Softer counterpart.
* ''Spidey Super-Stories'', a Marvel book for the younger set, inexplicably [http://notthebeastmaster.typepad.com/weblog/2004/03/hey_kids_death.html featured Thanos] at one point. Yes, the [[Thanos]] with a hard-on for Death, the one who killed half of everyone in the universe in an attempt to impress her. In a book for little kids. They must have just made him into a big purple guy.
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20131123041718/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2010/06/14/i-lova-ya-but-youre-strange-2/ He has a helicopter with his name on it. And he gets arrested by the police in the end. It's awesome.]
* [[Batman]] himself traditionally comes in two flavors, [[Darker and Edgier]] and Lighter and Softer. In [[Darker and Edgier]] mode, [[Wangst|he spends 95% of his time moping in the corner about his parents]], and the other 5% being awesome. In Lighter and Softer mode, however, he ranges from neutral to downright cheerful- andcheerful—and might even make a joke!
* The original 1980s version of ''[[Power Pack]]'', while not nearly as angsty as Marvel's other works, took itself seriously and attempted to be a serious, but not ''as'' serious as usual, comic about [[Kid Hero|kid heroes]]es, with a fair amount of characterization, intelligent plots, and good quality storytelling. It actually tries to realistically portray what children who find themselves with superpowers might actually go through, but still falls short of stereotypical comic angst. The 2000s remake is aimed squarely at a quite young audience and has much cuter art and simpler storytelling.
* ''[[Tiny Titans]]'' is an even lighter version of [[Teen Titans (Comic Book)|Teen Titans]] compared to [[Teen Titans (animation)|the TV show]]. It takes places in a bright happy world where some of the worst things the elementary school Titans need to worry about are: embarrassingly -loving father Trigon, grumpy lunch lady Darkseid, and stern principal Slade. In both versions of ''Teen Titans'', Trigon wishes to conquer Earth and turn it into a literal hell, [[Darkseid]] is out to conquer ''all'' life, and Slade is an amoral mercenary and assassin.
** To say nothing of the comic version Starfire's [[Most Common Superpower|character design]]...
* The 1994 [[ReContinuity BootReboot]] of ''[[Legion of Super-Heroes (comics)|Legion of Super-Heroes]]''. Over the previous decade, the comic had been hemorrhaging readers for years, having gone from happy young superheroes in a bright and shiny future to cynical adults struggling to hold society together (and the insanely complex [[Continuity Snarl]] that came about after ''[[Crisis on Infinite Earths]]''. So, the comic started over at the beginning with a focus on youth and idealism. (It got [[Darker and Edgier]] again when [[Dan Abnett]] and Andy Lanning took over writing duties years later, but that's another story.)
* Done in-universe in ''[[The Sandman]]'': [[Cain and Abel|Abel]] tells the baby Daniel the story of how he and Cain came to live in Dream's dominion... well, a version appropriate for a toddler, anyway. The story involves [[Super-Deformed]] versions of themselves, Dream and Death. Cain is utterly sickened. ''[[Crowning Moment of Funny|It's hilarious]].''
 
== Fan Works ==
 
* ''[[Decks Fall, Everyone Dies|Decks Fall Everyone Dies]]'', a Film Fic of ''[[Moulin Rouge! (2001 film)|Moulin Rouge!]]'' using the ''Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series'' characters, tones down the Duke's character (and the depression of rest of the plot) considerably.
== Fanfic ==
* [[Decks Fall, Everyone Dies|Decks Fall Everyone Dies]], a Film Fic of ''Moulin Rouge!'' using the ''Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series'' characters, tones down the Duke's character (and the depression of rest of the plot) considerably.
* ''[[South Park Monogatari]]'' tones down the swearing slightly and has little to no innuendos whatsoever.
* The [http://archiveofourown.org/series/9224 "Daycare 'Verse"], a series of [[Alternate Universe]] modern-setting ''[[X-Men: First Class|X Men First Class]]'' [[Slash Fic]]s. In it, Charles Xavier runs a daycare for [[Kid Fic|mutant toddlers]], and [[Magneto|Erik Lehnsherr]] is his [[Jerk with a Heart of Gold]] engineer boyfriend (instead of a [[Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds]] [[Nazi Hunter]]-turned-terrorist). Instead of [[Fantastic Racism]] and imminent nuclear war, the main hazards in the characters' current lives seem to be annoying coworkers and getting set on fire by a mutant preschooler with [[Power Incontinence]] issues.
* ''[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/6933825/1/Pony_Space Pony Space]'' A ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' and ''[[Dead Space (series)|Dead Space]]'' crossover, while it does have much of ''Dead Space'''s horror and the psychological effects of the Marker, Necromorphs rarely show up (twice as of 14 chapters), and it keeps much of MLP's light hearted tone.
* In the ''[[Death Note]]'' [[Crack Fic]] ''[[All You Need Is Love]]'', [[Sadist Show|basically Death Note the]] [[Sitcom]], there are much fewer deaths of series regulars and Light/Kira is much more mentally stable in this ficverse "sticking to a diet of murderers and rapists" and doesn't [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope|jump off the slippery slope]].
* ''[https://archiveofourown.org/works/31492754?view_full_work=true Mars Attacks: Simpsons]'', a crossover of ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' and ''[[Mars Attacks!]]'', while Gnard Martian Aries takes his job serious, Loki often find some ways to create antics. Kang and Kodos have join the citizens of Springfield to deal with the Gnard Martians with the Pace Martians being on notice about the threat. Yet, even Gnards, Veles and Hades, [[Punch Clock Villain|tells their prisoner that it wasn't personal what they're doing to her, it was business]].
 
 
== Films -- Animated ==
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* ''[[Star Wars]]: [[Return of the Jedi]]'', also produced by [[George Lucas]], was more kid-oriented than the well-received and [[Darker and Edgier]] ''[[The Empire Strikes Back]]'', the previous film in the original trilogy. Interestingly enough, Lucas, who didn't direct either film, wanted ''The Empire Strikes Back'' to be Lighter and Softer, was eventually convinced to keep it in its current form, and ended up hiring a director for ''ROTJ'' whom Lucas would direct through.
** Arguably, [[The Scrappy|the Ewoks]] and their antics are mostly responsible for the lighter tone. The scenes that don't involve them (Jabba's palace, the Emperor, etc) are still pretty dark.
** In the prequel trilogy, ''[[The Phantom Menace]]'' andis noticeably lighter in tone. In contrast, ''[[Attack of the Clones]]'' are noticeably lighter in tone, particularly the former. In contrast,and ''[[Revenge of the Sith]]'''' waswere substantially [[Darker and Edgier]]. (For comparison: In Episode I, Anakin is a kid; in Episode III ''he murders several kids''.)
* 1981 cult horror film ''The [[Evil Dead]]'' was generally nightmarish and horrifically gruesome. The sequel toned down all of this, and was deliberately goofier and somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but it still had plenty of blood and gore. It was funnier, not lighter. Finally, ''Army of Darkness'' completely did away with all elements of being a horror movie and was more or less just a silly parody of fantasy adventure films.
 
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* American horror films usually gets accused of this in spite of the "Splatter Pack" directors. Although most of them are foreign directors.
* The 1982 film ''[[Conan the Barbarian]]'' is an R-rated fantasy epic that contained considerable amounts of violence and nudity. It also has a large following of fans who consider it one of the greatest fantasy films ever made. For the 1984 sequel ''Conan the Destroyer'' the studio decided they wanted a more family-friendly Conan. The result was a PG-rated, more lighthearted Conan adventure that was poorly received by fans of the original film.
* ''BattleEscape forfrom the [[Planet of the Apes]]'', in contrast to the previous two and the latter two, especialy the very dark ''Conquest'' (and more so if you watch the version with the [[Executive Meddling|original, uncensored ending]]).
* [[John Carpenter]]'s ''[[Big Trouble in Little China]]'', [[Halloween (film)|compared]] [[The Thing (film)|to]] [[Escape from New York|his]] [[Prince of Darkness|other]] [[They Live!|works]].
* ''[[Spider-Man (film)|Spider-Man]] 2'' toned down some of the violence of the first film and was given a PG by the British Board of Film Classification. This was after the first ''Spider-Man'' film was given a 12 rating by the BBFC and described it as one of the most violent films ever aimed at young children, saying that some scenes even warranted a 15. Many councils (who have the final word on film censorship in the UK) boycotted this decision, releasing it as PG or PG-12, but Spider-Man stayed in cinemas long enough for young children to be admitted more widely (under adult supervision) following the introduction of the 12A rating.
* ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy (film)|The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy]]''—the Galaxy is presented as more wondrous and grand than the dull, bureaucratic "Earth-society-but-bigger" version we tend to get, and the film ends with {{spoiler|the new Earth being put in the place of the old one rather than being dismantled when construction shuts down as in the other versions.}}
* ''[[The Expendables 2]]'', thanks to a combination of [[Chuck Norris]]' ego, Lionsgate's greed, and [[Sylvester Stallone]]'s compromising too fast, will be rated PG-13. This is especially bad in contrast to the original, which was a throwback to the bloody, violent action films of the 80s and 90s. This has quickly resulted in furor across the Internet, with many criticizing the move to appeal to an audience that just doesn't care about this kind of film.
 
 
== Literature ==
* The ''Dunk & Egg'' novels are a ''relatively'' Lighter and Softer prequels to the [[Black and Gray Morality|extremely dark]] ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'', but still not exactly "kid-friendly". Still, [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism|considering the main series]], it's saying a lot.
* Most of the ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' novels focusing on the Imperial Guard portrays them as actual humans rather than statistics to [[Zerg Rush]] with. Perhaps taken to extreme with the ''[[Ciaphas Cain]]'' novels, which are distinctly comedic against the ridiculously [[Darker and Edgier|GRIMDARK]] setting.
** Likewise, the ''[[Gaunt's Ghosts|Gaunts Ghosts]]'' novels, while still fairly dark, portrays the Imperium in general working order with a healthy dose ''optimism'' (a concept often [[Crapsack World|completely unheard of]] in the 40K universe).
** The Earlier versions of codex was essentially one huge Satire, and then the American teenagers bought it into the GRIMDARK and well...it got darker.
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* [[The Bible|Chronicles]] is a rehashing of [[Books of Kings]] to highlight Israel's achievements and give hope to the Jewish exiles in Babylon.
* While not without their grim moments, ''Speaker for the Dead'' and its sequels are virtually rainbows and puppies compared to [[Ender's Game]].
* Part VIII of ''Lightenings'' by [[Seamus Heaney]] (the one with [[Cool Airship|the airship]]) is based on traditional Irish materials; the earliest mention is in the Annals of Ulster for 748. There's a version in ''Otia Imperialia'' by Gervase of Tilbury around 1215. See the comparison [https://vunex.blogspot.com/2007/06/on-marvellous.html on a blog over there], [[Internet Backdraft|with rather vigorous arguments in the comments.]]
 
 
== Live-Action TV ==
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* ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'' has gradually taken this course over its ten seasons, getting closer and closer to self-parody in the process.
* Season 7 of ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'' starts out with a much lighter mood than the dark, dark, ''[[Darker and Edgier]]'' Season 6 -- a deliberate move from the writers to give the audience a break from the [[Wangst|doom and gloom]].The season did take a noticeably [[It Got Worse|grimmer tone]] as it progressed.
** "[[Angel/Recap/S05 /E15 A Hole in Thethe World|A Hole In The World]]" and "Shells" notwithstanding, the same could be said for ''[[Angel]]'' Season 5. The entire season is a bit of a relief after the relentless Season 4.
* Seasons 15-17 of ''[[Doctor Who]]''. Just as the show had reached the height of its dark and intelligent phase it was inexplicably derailed and audiences were treated to three lighter and softer seasons that verged on comedy. As soon as Philip Hinchcliffe quit as producer, his replacement Graham Williams was called in by BBC executives and [[Executive Meddling|bluntly ordered]] to reduce the amount of graphic violence and horror, which had caused high-profile condemnations of the show by moral purity campaigners and the general press during the previous couple of seasons.
* ''[[Charmed]]'' increasingly took this direction with each passing season. First there were mermaids, then there were leprechauns, and finally a unicorn show up. Dwarves (from Snow White) showed up in a fairy tale based episode.
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* There was an interesting back-and-forth with ''[[The Addams Family]]'' across different media. The original single-panel cartoons depicted the characters as genuinely misanthropic monsters who killed random people for the lulz. The TV show, by contrast, depicted them as nice, arty bohemians whose square neighbours were frightened of them because of their weird lifestyle. The cinema films swung the pendulum back towards actual violence and death, but the animated kids-TV show spun off from the films went fluffier again.
* ''[[The Practice]]'' was a serious legal drama. [[Dramedy|The same]] [[Large Ham|cannot]] [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|be said]] [[No Fourth Wall|about]] its [[Spin-Off]], ''[[Boston Legal]]''.
* ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation|Star Trek the Next Generation]]'', after its first season. The first season and a few lingering bits of it in the second featured (among other things), Picard as a grumpy asshole, Q as a sadistic monster, Riker constantly shouting when he wasn't giving a perverted or just plain cocky smirk, dimly lit sets, aliens with drug problems, [[Anyone Can Die|a major character getting killed off for no reason]], [[Narm|cannibalistic Ferengis]], the topic of "sex" often feeling forced into episodes (as if somehow reveling in the idea that you can say a naughty word on TV?) rather than being handled organically, phaser beams that ''set people on fire'', and one infamous episode in which a character has his head shot off and then his stomach explode outwards with [[Special Effects Failure|alien parasites]]. [[Growing the Beard|The show got better]] right about the same time these bits went away, focusing a bit more on highbrow concepts and moral dilemmas. ''Then'' the [[Trek Verse]] got [[Darker and Edgier]] again, but without making it so cheesy.
* ''[[The Adventures of Superman]]'' was actually a hard-hitting and violent crime drama in its first season, and featured Phyllis Coates as an especially tough and strong-willed [[Lois Lane]]. For the second season, Noel Neill replaced Coates, and played a much softer and more traditionally feminine Lois. The show itself became less violent and more kid-oriented. By the third season, the show had become much more lighthearted and whimsical, with more science-fiction and fantasy elements and less violence.
* When the Argentinian [[Soap Opera]] "Floricienta" was adapted for Chilean viewers as "Floribella", some aspects of the show became this. In example, the original [[Evil Matriarch]] was portrayed as very malevolent, but in the Chilean version she's portrayed somewhat more comically. (It doesn't help that the Chilean actress is actually known for comical villain roles, which isn't the case with the Argentinian counterpart.)
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* This, along with [[Reconstruction]], may explain the success behind ''[[Once Upon a Time]]''. After years of sexed-up comedy shows, reality TV, [[Darker and Edgier]] dramas with [[Black and Gray Morality]] conflicts, and grisly police/medical/lawyer procedural shows, a straight up battle between good and evil with an intriguing mystery at the core feels so refreshing to audiences in comparison.
* ''[[Legend of the Seeker]]'' compared to [[Sword of Truth|its source material]]. When your source material includes (among other things) [[The Big Bad]] brainwashing a kid then killing him by pouring molten metal down his throat, his [[The Dragon|Dragon]] being a serial child molester and murderer, institutionalized gang-rape by the enemy army, and a [[Serial Killer]] severing a woman's spinal cord onscreen and then killing her in a manner which made [[Vomiting Cop|a combat hardened general throw up]], a Lighter and Softer [[Pragmatic Adaptation]] is the ''best'' you're going to get.
*While not without [[Darker and Edgier|its darker moments]], Season 10 of ''[[Smallville]]'' has a much brighter and lighthearted tone compared to [[Darker and Edgier|the very dark]] Season 9, which is not surprising since he becomes [[Superman]] in the [[Grand Finale]]
 
**Season 4 is this to the much [[Darker and Edgier|darker]] third season.
 
== Music ==
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* The Pierces had three dark-sounding, [[Femme Fatale]]-like albums out with very little success. Their fourth album, involving gentler songs reminiscent of The Bangles, got them breaking into the mainstream.
* A lot of Hip-Hop fans say this is what happened to mainstream rap music. The days of the weed smoking gangstas, and proud to be black Afrocentric political rappers with their gritty [[Justified Criminal|Justified crime tales]], and socio-political street knowledge were long gone. Only to be replaced (circa early 00's) by champagne sipping pimps, and playas, who love to rap about wealth, cheesy love songs, and club anthems.
** This is also common when leveled at ''SPECIFIC'' artists within the genre. Primarily [[Hardcore Hip Hop]] rappers and type 1 & 3 [[Gangsta Rap]] variants. A good example would be 50Cent whom ironically built his image around being the anti-Ja Rule (whom also turned lighter), which to some made fiddy hypocritical. Then there's others like [[Snoop Dogg]], [[3Three Six6 Mafia|Three Six Mafia]], [[Jay- Z]], [[Nas]] (circa ''Nastradamus''), the later years of No Limit records, [[Bone Thugs-n-Harmony]] (fans thinking they're still trying to chase [[Black Sheep Hit|''Tha Crossroads'']], or at least the record label is), [[Wu-Tang Clan]] circa ''Wu-Tang Forever'' (RZA saying it was a record [[But Not Too Black|for white people]]). As far as the whole genre goes it mostly boils down to [[Money, Dear Boy]] (or to be fair [[Executive Meddling]] in addition to radio/MusicVideo censorship towards [[Hip Hop]] especially [[Gangsta Rap]], [[Political Rap]], and [[Conscious Hip Hop]])..for better or for worse.
* Synthpop duo Future Perfect's first album, ''Dirty Little Secrets'', is dark, [[angst]]y, and depressing at times. Their second, ''Escape'', looks to be headed in the upbeat and energetic direction, by the previews.
* ''[[Avenged Sevenfold]]'', although their music is still dark-and-edgy by general music standards.
* Many thrash metal bands went in this direction around the time of the grunge explosion, partially to keep up with the times and partially because the bandmembers themselves were growing tired of the musical style they were playing. During the last decade, however, this has been subverted by many of these same bands.
** [[Testament]] subverted this trope after their "Lighter and Softer" ''The Ritual'' flopped. ''Demonic'', in particular, borders on being a full-blown death metal album.
* Played with [[BTS (band)|BTS]] at several points of their career.
** Subverted with ''Love Yourself: Her'', the album that followed the philosophically charged ''Wings''. It begins as a softer album full of [[Silly Love Songs]], but the songs gradually turn into [[Obsession Song|obsession ones]], and after the mid-point skit the tone becomes darker and [[Lyrical Dissonance|sometimes dissonant]].
** ''Be'', the album that the group created as a result of the lockdowns and cancelled tours because of the Covid-19 crisis to soothe themselves and their fanbase, is very much softer and hopeful than their previous release ''Map of the Soul: 7'', an album created to celebrate their 7th anniversary and as such explored the positive and negative parts of their carreer until then.
 
 
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'''Andy:''' ''(offscreen)'' Jason, will you stop bawling long enough to tell me what's wrong?! }}
** Also, a later storyline has Andy forcing Peter and Jason to play Mothers Against Gory Games-approved versions of popular video games (such as ''[[Vice City|Nice City]]'') in an attempt to make them ''stop'' playing video games altogether.
* As shown above, Bucky from ''[[Get Fuzzy]]'' had an idea to [[The Mockbuster|remake famous films]] in this vein. Relevant strips begin [https://web.archive.org/web/20100326072236/http://comics.com/get_fuzzy/2010-02-08/ here].
 
 
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== Professional Wrestling ==
* [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] shifted their free TV programming from a TV-14 rating to TV-PG starting in 2008; this was done to help distance the current product from the "anything goes" [[Attitude Era]] (especially in light of the [[Chris Benoit]] tragedy and the steroid scandals brought to light by a Sports Illustrated article in 2006 that named names), as well as to help attract new advertisers (and a younger demographic).
** It's also been speculated that the shift was to accommodate Linda McMahon's run for the US Senate; an attempt to portray her as a CEO of a "family-friendly" organization, even going so far as to attempt to block all videos on [[YouTube]] taken during the Attitude Era. Nevertheless, it doesn't seem to be working, and most WWE fans are hopeful that if this campaign fails, the company will revert back to a TV-14 product. While the campaign failed, it didn't result into the TV-14 rebound some IWC fans were hoping for. Which may or may not cast doubt on if this was ever really a factor at all. Now, it seems to have been a factor, thanks to the edgier turn WWE's been taking since 2010, arguably the worst of the [[Dork Age]] when the election was ongoing. Now that there's no need to portray themselves as a "family-friendly" company for the purposes of election politics (which in hindsight, seems to have been the deciding factor in switching to PG), the WWE is free to switch back to TV-14 (presumably in the next few months), and has started making subtle changes to foreshadow this. A new Attitude Era is promised by [[Stone Cold Steve Austin]] himself.
* In the mid 80's, [[WWEWorld Wrestling Entertainment|WWF]]'s Rock 'N' Wrestling evolved Pro Wrestling from male niche entertainment to family entertainment.
* The newly revived "ECW". It's used more as a launching platform for up and coming wrestlers and a place to dump useless ones (* cough* '''VLADIMIR KOZLOV''' * cough* ).
* [[John Cena]]'s "FU" ([[Don't Explain the Joke|a common internet acronym for "Fuck You"]]) was renamed to the "Attitude Adjustment". Similarly, the STFU ("Shut The Fuck Up") was renamed to the "STF Crossface Combo".
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** Curiously, they kept [[A Date with Rosie Palms|Five Knuckle Shuffle]].
* When [[Mick Foley]] hit legitimate main event status in late 1998, he traded in a lot of the more sado-masochistic elements of his gimmick for a more humorous approach (which [[Triple H]] referred to as a "human muppet") that included a sock puppet and a more child-like demeanor. He, however, still retained bits of his [[Crazy Awesome]] tolerance for pain which, combined with his new more innocent behavior turned into [[The Woobie]] of the WWF.
* Prior to coming to the [[WWEWorld Wrestling Entertainment|WWF]], the Sheepherders were one of the most hardcore tag teams in pro wrestling. Upon their arrival, Butch Miller and Luke Williams changed their name to the Bushwhackers, became faces, and played their brawling style more for laughs than for heat.
* The entire [[CHIKARA]] wrestling league is built around this. Television production is broken into distinct "seasons", with each season's DVD release being designed as a comic book cover. Several wrestlers are based on video game and comic book characters. There is no swearing whatsoever, to the point where attempts to start a swearing chant by the crowd are shouted down ''by the rest of the audience''. [[Rule of Funny]] holds sway, with stunts like holding the first minute or so of a match in slow motion, while another has a wrestler who doesn't like where the match is going, so he ''pauses and rewinds'' the match several seconds, starts again, and this time reverses a move he now sees coming.
 
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* ''[[Magic: The Gathering|Magic the Gathering]]'' has "Lorwyn," a plane which by its design was meant to be Lighter and Softer, until you looked closer. Its [[Darker and Edgier]] counterpart is "Shadowmoor." Which is appropriate, considering that the two sets' inspiration were fairy tales and their older folk tale counterparts respectively.
** Lorwyn was something of an inversion of the way worlds usually work in ''Magic: the Gathering''. Goblins and faeries were both the same as they always are, but the world is so much Lighter and Softer than usual that their traditional mischief and hedonism is close enough to true evil to be aligned with black mana. Merfolk, generally xenophobic and hostile to surface-dwellers, got hit with true [[Disneyfication]] and became sociable, lounging out of wells and on riverbanks chatting with townfolk. Elves were the biggest reversal; in normal Magic settings they are definitively from forests and green mana, but generally leaning towards white mana on the side, indicating a preference for order and the status quo versus [[The World Is Always Doomed|whatever maniac was trying to conquer the world in the storyline of this expansion]]. With no world-ending threat to Lorwyn, though, they are still green but their pride and disdain for everything else is sufficient to make ''them'' the closest thing to a [[Big Bad]]. And then Shadowmoor came along and [[Zig-Zagging Trope|partially inverted it in a few more ways all over again]].
* ''[[Wraith: The Oblivion]]'' was considered to be by far the darkest game of the [[Old World of Darkness]] line, which is ''really'' saying something. Characters spent their undead days in a decaying afterlife, trying to avoid the machinations of the power-hungry Hierarchy and [[Eldritch Abomination|the insatiable Oblivion]] while trying to hold on to their ties to life and fighting off [[Enemy Within|the dark voices in their head]]. Now comes the [[Spiritual Successor]], ''[[Geist: The Sin Eaters]]'', where the characters have [[Back Fromfrom the Dead|returned from the brink of death]] with a ghostly passenger and superpowers, and a major component of their culture is celebrating another day of life.
** ''Geist'' also tends to be Lighter And Softer compared to the ''[[New World of Darkness]]'' in general. It's not exactly a bag of kittens, but it's generally optimistic—the Bound got a second chance at life, and intend to use it to the fullest, whether that means saving people, helping innocent ghosts, destroying malevolent ghosts, killing villainous people, or just making their lives comfortable. After previous games have been the likes of ''[[Promethean: The Created]]'', ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'', or even ''[[Hunter: The Vigil]]'', it's a bit of a shock to see a game that falls closer to ''[[Mage: The Ascension]]'' on the [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]].
* ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]''. During 3e , there were chaos cultists on Terra, the Imperium was losing worlds by the hundreds and High Lords did not care, in fact most of them had been driven insane by imperfect deageing treatments. This was before the Horus Heresy, before the Imperium's methods were justified by dozens of books. There was no [[Ciaphas Cain]], no likable or sane character to be found. The Sisters of Battle fielded suicide bomber cadres, the Space Marines were a shadow of their power in later editions, and more insane: imperfections in their half forgotten surgical techniques rendered 9 out of 10 recruits dead and the survivors deranged. The [[Religious Horror]] was at its peak, the artwork like of things that can barely be called human hugging and kissing undetonated artillery shells, begging the gods of war for salvation has never been reprinted, the forces of Chaos, later [[Ultimate Evil]], were simply presented as an alternate form of insanity to that of the Imperium's. By 5e, ''Warhammer'' shows an Age of War where humanity's survival hangs in the balance. 3e showed an Age of Insanity where the spirit of man was long dead. The reason for this is because Games Workshop realized that almost everyone saw the storyline as a huge joke because it was too [[Grimdark]].
** And then there's [https://web.archive.org/web/20120410134009/http://www.mmogrindhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/hello-kitty-40k.jpg this...] And [http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Brighthammer_40,000_%282nd_edition%29 Brighthammer 40000], which takes every race and makes them more sympathetic save the Tau, who conveniently are [[Complete Monster]]s.
* ''[[Little Fears]] Nightmare Edition'' as compared to the original. The constant pall of child abuse is gone, and it's actually fairly well-suited to running a relatively light-hearted Kids Vs. Monsters adventure in the vein of ''[[The Monster Squad]].'' It has suggested rules modifications for taking it even ''further'' in the Lighter and Softer direction with the Dark Fairy Tales playmode (think ''[[Coraline (novel)|Coraline]]''—or your choice of children's fairy stories with a dark cast to them, if that one scared you too much)... or, alternately, darkening it to the point that it's more in line with the original game.
* ''[[Mutant Chronicles]]'' can be considered a lighter and softer take on ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]''. There are a lot of similar elements and the feel is much the same, but in ''Mutant Chronicles'', human life is considered precious and humanity still has a fighting chance.
 
 
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* ''[[Death Smiles]]'', a shooter by CAVE while not too dark, reduced a bit of its horror elements with a lighter style where the girls stops an evil Santa Claus to find several [[MacGuffin]]s to wake up their benefactor who saves them from certain death.
* ''[[Godzilla]]'' for Game Boy features the title monster in a puzzle platformer game portraying Godzilla and the enemy monsters as mini-sized cutesy creatures. Godzilla in particular resembles the protagonists of ''[[Bubble Bobble]]''. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAxcuP6_RdQ It has to be seen to be believed].
* ''[[Tetris the Grand Master]] 4 - The Masters of Round'' is looking to drop the serious-looking backgrounds in favor of [https://web.archive.org/web/20090913125927/http://am-show.sega.jp/jamma09/t_tgm.shtml flowers and prettiness].
* ''[[Hey You, Pikachu!]]'' and ''[[Pokémon Channel]]'' to the mainline [[Pokémon]] series. You just take care of a wild Pikachu and with time, you become good friends. [[Recycled in Space|The latter half is the same as the prequel, but while you both watch T.V.]]
* Illusion's [[H-game]] library started off as dark sci-fi and fantasy style H-Games, as they gotten newer 3D technology, it has soften a bit compared to its past games. Compare Rapelay to Sexy Beach 3, Illusion characters are now more or less Adult Video Actresses.
* ''[[Chaos;Head]]'' was a suspense/mystery story that blurred the lines between fantasy and reality. ''Chaos;Head Love Chu Chu'' is an [[Unwanted Harem]] romantic comedy. For one entry, at least, the series fully embraces that aspect of itself.
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* ''[[Day of the Tentacle]]'' is more purely a comedy, as opposed to its predecessor, ''[[Maniac Mansion]]'', which was a horror/sci-fi game with some funny bits.
** Also, unlike the first game, ''DotT'' has no unwinnable scenarios or time limits.
* For the [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] series, this started with ''[[Sonic Heroes]]'', while ''[[Sonic Unleashed]]'', the ''[[Sonic Storybook Series]]'', and more recently ''[[Sonic Colors]]'' take it back in this direction after the [[Darker and Edgier]] ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]'' and the [[It Got Worse|infamous]] ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 (video game)|Sonic '06]]''. Given the all-around [[Fan Dumb]] complaining of the latter games, this was probably needed.
* ''[[Skies of Arcadia]]'' compared to RPGs ''in general'' at the time of its release (originally in 2000 on the Dreamcast, then [[Updated Rerelease|ported in 2003]] for the [[Nintendo GameCube]]) was lighter and softer in its impossibly optimistic and clean-cut protagonist [[Determinator|Vyse]], as opposed to the more (at the time) recent cynical brooding heroes [[Final Fantasy VII|Cloud Strife]] and [[Final Fantasy VIII|Squall Leonhart]], a not-too-overly-complicated plot (it had its dark moments, but even so), and rather simplistic battle system. Because of the amounts of darkness and cynicism that began to dominate, however, this was well-received.
** Taken somewhat further in the U.S Dreamcast release when situations involving drunkenness and a particular near-rape scene involving one of the female protagonists was edited out.
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* Against the ongoing tide of [[Mass Effect|Mature]] [[Dragon Age Origins|Dark]] [[Western Role Playing Game|Role Playing Games]], ''[[Divinity 2]]'' serves as being much notably lighter in tone and setting than most current [[Western RPG]]s out at the moment.
* The endings in the ''[[Twisted Metal]]'' games made by 989 Studios (''Twisted Metal III'' and ''Twisted Metal 4'') tend to be much less darker and sometimes downright comedic when compared to their predecessors.
* ''[[Fallout 2]]'', is Lighter and Softer compare to the rest of the Fallout games its full of humor and pop culture jokes and the main villains are [[Cartoonish Supervillainy|cartoonlycartoonishly evil]] rather than the anti-villains the last game had.
** Oddly, the game is also horrifically dark compared to the old game. Genocide, prostitution, organized crime, corruption, political subversion, and slavery were far more prominent. In addition, the first time you see the {{spoiler|Enclave}}, they murder a family with a minigun over a perceived slight. The {{spoiler|Super Mutants}} in the first game never are shown to visibly do anything similar. Then again ''Fallout'' has always been a [[Black Comedy]], so its naturally the funniest of the games as well as one of the darkest.
* ''[[Drakengard 2]]'' might be considered pretty dark compared to other JRPGs, but it is ''incredibly'' lighter than its predecessor. The main character isn't a complete kill-happy sociopath, has a chance to have a love interest that ''doesn't'' end horribly, and the game actually includes [[Multiple Endings|one ending]] where the world and the main characters are ''not'' doomed to suffer and/or die in various terrible ways.
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* ''[[Zeus and Sons]]'' is lighter and softer than the Greek mythology that it parodies, turning even the most horrible acts of the Greek gods into comical mishaps.
* ''[[Sinfest]]'' is a webcomic that used to be extremely cynical and celebrated the sinful lives of the main characters. Nowadays, the overall tone of the strip is very optimistic and deals with how the very human characters deal with the temptation of sin while exploring the connections they have with each other. It's hard to point out exactly where the shift occurred, but consensus says it became official during the [[Love Redeems]] storyline between one of the succubi and the nerdy bookworm.
** [httphttps://wwwweb.archive.org/web/20140209160610/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=1808 Earlier, it had God rejecting the notion of toning down his art work for this.]
* ''[[Fluffy Bunny Domination]]'' lives and breaths a Lighter and Softer version of [[BDSM]].
* In ''[[Homestuck]]'', the alien trolls are [[Darker and Edgier|violent, amoral, and unstable]]. In their previous incarnation they were peaceful, kind, and {{spoiler|so weak they couldn't play the game that would create a new universe so they had to reboot it and be manipulated into something more aggressive}}.
* Parodied in ''[[Bob the Angry Flower]]'' - "[http://www.angryflower.com/611.html softening the brand]" will allow to reach "[[Lowest Common Denominator|a broader demo]]"... {{spoiler|Everyone dies. But ADORABLY!}}
* ''Dorkly'' presents: "[http://www.dorkly.com/post/58401/3-movies-made-nicer 3 Movies Made Nicer]": ''The Empire Nices Back'', ''SE7ENice'' and ''There Will Be Nice''.
 
== Web Originals ==
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* This trope is parodied [http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/485797 here], with an attempt to make ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]'' Lighter and Softer. It's a parody of the animated cartoon versions of films geared towards adult audiences (see Western Animation below). In particular, [[Sociopathic Hero|Rorschach]] describes himself as "nutty" (he's relegated to comic relief) and [[Attempted Rape|the Comedian]]... ''[[Dogged Nice Guy|has a crush]]'' on Silk Spectre.
** And, there's [http://envyskort.deviantart.com/art/G-Rated-Watchmen-Part-1-117642121 this comic]. Be sure to read the rest of the chapters as well!
* After the Incarnates arc in [[We Are Our Avatars (Roleplay)|We Are Our Avatars]], which is chockfull of [[Grimdark]], many of the Arcs started to get lighter, although many exceptions have applied.
* [[Tobuscus]] started out his vlogging career with a very gritty, profanity-laced style, clearly going for a [[All Girls Want Bad Boys|"bad boy"]] vibe. Around 2010, however, his popularity started to really grow, his [[Product Placement|sponsorships]] took off, and his [[So My Kids Can Watch|teenage niece, Ciara]], started appearing in his videos—and suddenly the grittiness was gone, replaced by a Toby who never swears, pretends to be oblivious to things like sex and alcohol, and is almost entirely comedic. His niece aside, this was almost certainly a calculated career move to broaden his appeal, although there are still occasional comments on his videos expressing longing for the "old Toby".
 
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* ''Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters'' was a Lighter and Softer version of ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]''.
* ''[[Catscratch]]'' is an adaptation of a comic book. The original comic, called ''[[Gear]]'', centers on a war between anthropomorphic species, fought on giant robots, and doesn't shy away from depicting murders, genocide, body horror and torture. The cartoon not only didn't have one of the main characters, who died, but didn't let another character suffer his [[Fate Worse Than Death]].
* ''[[Beast Machines]]'' is about planetary genocide, religious fanaticism and unceasing, torrential whining. ''[[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (anime)|Transformers Robots in Disguise]]'' is about the wacky adventures of a put-upon space shark and the delightful things he does. That's something of a simplification, but the fact remains: Transformers has never gotten quite so dark as Beast Machines since,<ref>until Transformers: Prime, anyways,</ref> if only because presumably Hasbro have decided they'd quite like people to actually buy their toys.
* The short lived cult series ''[[Cybersix]]'' was waaaay Lighter and Softer than the original comic it was based on: All the nazi [[Backstory]] of Von Reichter becomes subtext; when defeated the Fixed Ideas evaporate videogame-style leaving behind a pile of clothes & a "Sustenance" health powerup for Cybersix so she didn't need to ''bite them like a vampire'' as in the comic; and nothing of all the ''high'' sexual content of the original.
* Although [[Nickelodeon]] isn't one for "dark" shows (except [[Invader Zim|ZIM]]) and [[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]), ''[[Chalk ZoneChalkZone]]'' seems to be Nick's attempt at making a very soft, light, and fluffy cartoon (most likely to recover younger viewers from the [[Nightmare Fuel]]-filled ''Invader Zim'' (already mentioned). Despite being adorable, [[Tastes Like Diabetes|it made many viewers sick]]. Well, that's what happens when you have too much sugar.
** Also, when Nickelodeon's CBS block featured non-Jr. shows from 2002-2005, due to having to comply to the E/I guidelines, the two most popular Nicktoons of the time, ''[[SpongeBob SquarePants]]'' and ''[[The Fairly Odd ParentsOddParents]]'', were off-limits for the CBS block, therefore Nick had to rely on less-popular Nicktoons to fill the roster, like ''[[All Grown Up!]]'', ''[[As Told by Ginger]]'', and the aforementioned ''[[Chalk ZoneChalkZone]]''.
* ''[[The Superhero Squad Show]]'', like the toyline it comes from, manages to include ''[[The Punisher]]''. How does that work, you ask? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XoRGgpF2qc Like this].
* ''[[Batman Beyond]]'''s spin off show ''[[The Zeta Project]]'' is much cuter and softer than what it was spun off from. MUCH. They also redesigned Zeta to be much more human-looking without even a [[Hand Wave]]. When Batman shows up in a [[Crossover]] episode, he doesn't mention that Zeta looks different than he remembers.
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* The [[Image]] comic book [[Wild CATS]] is very violent, dark and cynical. By contrast, the [[Wild CATS]] cartoon is more standard superhero fare.
* The second season of ''[[Superjail]]'' at least compared to the first. Characters are more humanized and sympathetic and less wantonly cruel, and this includes the inmates. Make no mistake that it's still a [[Gorn]] series, but less randomly cruel than in the first season.
* ''[[The Problem Solverz]]'' was originally pitched to [[Adult Swim]] and was much more random and surreal than the [[Cartoon Network]] series. Now the show is quite toned down and focuses more on the episode plots instead of arbitrary [[BLAMNon Sequitur Scene]]s.
* ''[[Little Shop of Horrors]]'' had an animated series, where the killer, man-eating plant was now friendly and tried to help the main character, and the psychotic sadistic dentist was a school yard bully who stole lunch money and food from Seymour.
* ''[[Baby Looney Tunes]]'', being a [[Spinoff Babies]] version of ''[[Looney Tunes]]'', is built on this.
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[[Category:Tone Shift]]
[[Category:Lighter and Softer]]
[[Category:Character Development]]