Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Difference between revisions

** And as of chapter 582, if his flashback is to be believed, {{spoiler|Kabuto.}}

* Teru Mikami of ''[[Death Note]]'' was a really sweet kid who would always defend the weak and was a [[Bully Hunter]]. As he got older, the fact that most people seemed to tolerate bullying gave him an intense sense of [[Black and White Morality]] which was strengthened when some of his bullies ended up being killed in an accident. Once he got his hands on the titular [[Artifact of Doom]], he ended up as the [[Ax Crazy|craziest]] person in a series filled with some fairly unstable people.

** [[Villain Protagonist|Light]]. Nice, normal family, top of his class, popular with other students... and he's killed God knows how many people by the end of the second episode.

*** Light and Misa were distinctly ''never'' normal; they have emotional impairments of some kind. It's possible Misa developed her psychopathic tendencies somewhere between her parents' deaths and meeting Rem, given she's had actual trauma and a showbiz career to mess with her head, but Light is pretty...empty.

** There also was a young boy, left orphaned with his younger brother, who knew that crying will not make things better, and instead aspired to become stronger along with his brother. As the two get adopted by a martial arts master, the two finally learn to become stronger and this young child aspires to greater glory in his quest for strength. This boy grew up to be {{spoiler|[[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Raoh]]}}, but [[Love Redeems|his story does have a happier ending.]]

* ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' brings us resident [[Psychopathic Manchild]] Russia, who was just [http://community.livejournal.com/ramudaderuta/22835.html adorable] and ''sane'' (and [http://hetalia.livejournal.com/11185680.html oh-so-woobie]) as a child. Then came [https://web.archive.org/web/20100213102502/http://aph.starry-sky.com/russ.html this] and [[wikipedia:Russian Revolution (1917)|this]], and I don't think [[wikipedia:Soviet Union|this]] did him any favors.

** America from England's perspective, who used to be a sweet [[Cute Shotaro Boy]] and just adored England. Then, we all know [[The American Revolution|what]] [[She's All Grown Up|happened]] [[Tear Jerker|next.]]

** England too, apparently. The youngest we've seen him was in the ''Passing Through The Year 1000'' strip, when he happily agreed to let France pretend to have conquered him. From there he became a very unhappy child, then a "juvenile delinquent" who's hobby was piracy, and eventually settling into the [[Jerkass]] [[Tsundere]] we all know now.

* Adam Blade from ''[[NEEDLESS]]'', who is, to put it mildly, a violent [[Lolicon]] [[Anti-Hero]]. Even his foster-father wonders just what the hell had gone wrong in the process. {{spoiler|This is actually a plot point that is currently on-going in the manga.}}

* Chouji Suitengu, back then known as {{spoiler|Ueno Takeshi}} from ''[[Speed Grapher]]'' was a pretty sweet kid, who loved playing games with his little sister. Then his parents were murdered for not being able to pay their debt to the Roppongi Club. Suitengu was sold off as a child soldier, almost killed during his final mission, and then turned into a Frankenstein stitch job. Nowadays, he's a textbook example of [[Four Eyes, Zero Soul]].

{{quote|''' {{spoiler|2nd World}} Yuno''': When did I become so twisted? }}

* Surprisingly, ''Guts from [[Berserk]]'' was actually a sweet and innocent kid. The downfall started when he was three and his foster mother Sys died of the plague, leaving him to be raised by his sadistic and hateful foster father Gambino. Even after being trained for war and serving on the front lines, he was still a pretty innocent kid, until the night after his first battle when Gambino {{spoiler|sold him to another soldier for three silver coins, a soldier who [[Shotacon|liked little boys in the wrong way]], resulting in a traumatic rape despite Guts' best efforts to fight the man off. The following day when Guts coldly murdered the man was the point of no return. When he was finally forced to kill Gambino in self-defense and was driven out of the camp by a mob intent on killing him, he became bitter, hateful and cut off from other people.}}

* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Millions Knives]], the [[Big Bad]] of ''[[Trigun]]''. Anime him...kinda, but the psycho tendencies were there even before he flipped out and became a full-blown [[Creepy Child]]. Manga Knives...had [[Go Mad from the Revelation|something much better]] to flip out over, and before that, just ''listen'' to the kid.

** Kiriha Aonuma from ''[[Digimon Xros Wars]]'' is shown to be gentle as a child in his back story. His father {{spoiler|critiques that Kiriha must learn to be stronger, which leads to him being a [[Jerkass]]. He gets better as well.}}

* The first line in the ''[[Baccano!]]'' novel set in 1705 is from [[Manipulative Bastard|Huey Laforet's]] mother, talking about how innocent he was. [[Immortality|A couple of hundred years]] since, he's become a [[Mad Scientist]] who sees all humans ([[Abusive Parents|including his own children]]) as "raw materials."

* While the primary casts of ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' are kids by most definition, Sakura Kyouko used to be a sweet, good [[Japanese Christian]] girl who only wanted to help her father in spreading the word of his God. {{spoiler|Unfortunately, when Minister Sakura figured out that Kyouko used magic to bring people to his church, he snapped, killed his family, and then committed suicide. Only Kyouko survived.}} No wonder she's such a misanthropic [[Jerkass]]. Also, Homura {{spoiler|used to be [[Adorkable]], but fighting the scheme of an [[Eldritch Abomination]] in a [[Groundhog Day Loop]]}} warped her into a cold, lonely [[Anti-Hero]].

* {{spoiler|Faye Valentine}} of ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]'' actually used to be a very sweet idealistic child from what could be told from the lost tape found from a time capsule. It is a very [[Tear Jerker|sad]] comparison to how {{spoiler|she}} is grown up.

** ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED|Gundam SEED]]'': Compare the Athrun in the flashbacks, who believed that Earth and ZAFT would never go to war, with the bitter, cynical soldier we all know and love. Also, it seems that the entire universe is bent on turning main character Kira into one of these. He gets it back mostly.

** ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny|Gundam SEED Destiny]]'': Shinn Asuka was a nice kid who loved his family, and especially his little sister. Then they all died. In front of him. Goodbye [[Cheerful Child]], hello [[The Berserker|Berserker]]. His friend Rey Za Burrell is also an example; flashbacks show him as a [[Cute Shotaro Boy]] with a love of the piano, and nothing like the [[Utopia Justifies the Means]] [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] and [[Manipulative Bastard]] he is today.

* Raven/Gilbert Nightray of ''[[Pandora Hearts]]'' was absolutely adorable as a child. Following his [[Break the Cutie]] event he became a brooding, serious man with major issues. Oz could count too.

* Tetsunosuke and Suzu of ''[[Peacemaker Kurogane]]''.

* Shinji and Asuka from ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', and practically [[Dysfunction Junction|the entire cast]]. Rei in particular seemed to be downright ''cheerful'' until her first clone met its demise.

* Alucard, Integra, and Seras of ''[[Hellsing]]''.

* Nanami of ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]''. Also, in episode 9 there is a back-story to Saionji's childhood depicting the origins of Saionji's current controlling, depressed [[Jerkass]] personality. When he was younger he was more easygoing and kinder.

* ''[[Psyren]]'' [[Big Bad]] Amagi Miroku 'Grigori #06' is an extremely homicidal [[Magnificent Bastard]] who decided to [[Kill All Humans]] except those with [[Psychic Powers]] who are willing to help with the plan, after spending most of his childhood and adolescence as a government test subject. However, several years into being a test subject, while his twin #07 was nonresponsive and #05 had already defaulted to hate, #06 was still the sweetest kid. The fact that he held onto the hope of living as a human being the longest seems to have enhanced the virulence of his hatred once he gave up.

* ''[[Eight Crazy Nights]]'': Davey was a teen basketball star and liked by practically everyone. Upon learning that {{spoiler|his parents died in a car accident on the way to one of his games}}, he grew up to be an alcoholic jerk.

* Judging from the flashback, Loki from ''[[Thor (film)|Thor]]'' had a good relationship with Thor and his father and had a penchant for mischief before the jealousy settled in.

 

== Literature ==

* ''[[Doctor Who]]'': The Master was apparently a sweet kid until he looked into the Vortex at age 8, and heard the drums. Then he slowly went batshit insane.

** Invoked by name in "The Rebel Flesh"/"The Almost People", except with reference to the sweet kid's artificial duplicate.

 

== Music ==