History Main / FatalFlaw

* Quite few show up in the ''Franchise/DanganRonpa'' series, and it's often exploited by the Mastermind to make the killings actually happen.
** Mondo Owada's is his temper and sense of inadequacy. In his backstory, he, [[spoiler:struggling with feelings of inferiority to his brother Diaiya, challenges Daiya to a race, resulting in Daiya dying to save Mondo]]. In Chapter 2, [[spoiler:he, jealous of Chihiro's sense of strength, and emotionally disturbed at the prospect of the aforementioned incident coming to light, accidentally kills Chihiro in a fit of rage]].

** Celeste Ludenburg has Lack of Trust. As a gambler and a ConsummateLiar, Celeste can't trust anyone. [[spoiler:She's the third culprit, because she couldn't trust the other students and Alter Ego to overturn the game, and instead decided to play it in her desperation to get out.]]

** Kyoko Kirigiri's fatal flaw is IWorkAlone. She is genuinely trying to figure out the Mastermind's plot so she can stop it, but her habit of going off on her own without telling anyone where she is leads to other students seeing her as suspicious [[spoiler:and plays into the Mastermind's plan to frame her]].
** [[spoiler:Mukuro Ikasuba]]'s flaw is [[ExtremeDoormat Blind Devotion]]. Even if she personally doesn't want to go through with something, she'll do it if [[spoiler:Junko]] asks, due both to emotional abuse and her training as the Ultimate Soldier. It also means that she has a severe blind spot about people she sees as commanding officers. [[spoiler:She helps Junko with the Ultimate Despair plan despite it involving her friends and crushed being brutally tortured and murdered, and she dies because she never realized that Junko really ''would'' kill her on a whim.]]
** [[spoiler:Junko Enoshima]] has Lust, though not the usual version. Rather, they will take ''any'' opportunity for stimulation, even if said opportunity is exactly counter towards their normal plans. [[spoiler:Junko killed her boyfriend and sister, both useful assets to her, just because she wanted to feel some momentary despair from killing loved ones. And when she's caught out in the first game, she doesn't try to regain control or to escape to continue her plans, instead executing ''herself'' because she liked the idea of despairing at seeing her plans fail.]]
** Peko Pekoyama is unable to see herself as anything other than [[spoiler:Fuyuhiko's tool]], viewing herself and everyone else as expendable, which leads her to [[spoiler:kill Mahiru under the assumption that Fuyuhiko would be considered the true mastermind, and thus graduate after everyone else convicted her. It didn't work, because as Monokuma pointed out, ''she'd acted without his orders''; Fuyuhiko didn't want her to kill anyone for him because he saw her as a friend and didn't want her to die]].

** Jin Kirigiri, headmaster of Hope's Peak, had his devotion to the academy's mission. His desire to help talented students succeed in life meant that he had a tendency to overlook the fact that some of his more talented students were ''spectacularly'' unstable people who would likely use those talents for evil. The Steering Committee he reported to were even worse in this regard, as at least Jin realized enough was enough when a student (who was enrolled behind his back) manipulated the Student Council into murdering each other. The Steering Committee covered the incident up.[[spoiler:In fact, the Steering Committee were ''so'' devoted to the ideal of talent that they decided to create a person who was all talent and no humanity- which turned out to be someone who had no motivation to actually ''do'' anything with his talents, and just [[BystanderSyndrome watched the world be destroyed]].]]
** Kaede Akamatsu has a tendency to push her own personal sense of justice (what she believes is "right"), regardless of the consequences, which leads her to setting a trap to catch the Mastermind, even though she doesn't even know for definite that there is one. [[spoiler:There ''is'' a mastermind, but Kaede's attempt to set a trap and kill the mastermind results in her being framed for the mastermind killing Rantaro, and thus being executed]].
** Kirumi Tojo has Perfectionism. She will always go above and beyond to fulfil any task given to her, [[spoiler:which leads to her murdering Ryoma when she's led to believe that staying in school would lead to her failing in her role as Japan's effective Prime Minister.]]
** Gonta Gokuhara is very gullible, which makes him easily manipulated by [[TheChessmaster Kokichi]] and really comes back to bite him when [[spoiler:Kokichi manipulates him to killing Miu]].
** Miu Iruma's is her [[KickTheDog abusiveness]] and lack of trust, as she is unable to put aside her fear that one of the other students may kill her and use her talent to work together, [[spoiler:thus leading to her plotting to kill Kokichi and graduate, an attempt that is thwarted when Gonta kills her on Kokichi's suggestion]].
** Tenko Chabashira's protectiveness over Himiko almost directly results in [[spoiler:her death, literally volunteering to take Himiko's face in a death trap, albeit unknowingly.]]

** Kokichi's is his constant lying to everyone. Though his lying tendencies do help out the group and allow him to outwit the culprits several times, it also gets in the way when he's genuinely trying to accomplish a goal and the other students don't believe him. It really comes back to bite him in the aftermath of Chapter Four [[spoiler:Miu and Gonta are dead, which is almost entirely his fault, and the group turn their backs on him when he falsely claims to be the Mastermind. When the group are shown a Flashback Light concerning Ultimate Despair, they assume Kokichi is a member. When Kokichi kidnaps Kaito, Maki goes after Kokichi and confronts him. When Kokichi tells her (truthfully) that he has no idea what she's talking about, Maki naturally doesn't believe him and shoots him with a poisoned arrow, which will slowly kill him.]]
** Himiko has two, her childishness and unwillingness to face her feelings. During the second trial, she [[SkewedPriorities thinks her magic show is more important than clearing suspicion of her]], so she stubbornly refuses to explain how her trick works until Shuichi figures it out himself and she's forced to confirm it. She's also a major suspect in two different trials because her childish nature makes her an easy target to frame. Then in the third trial, her grief over [[spoiler:Tenko's death]] looks fake because up until then, she expressed nothing but annoyance towards her. It's only when Himiko remembers Tenko's last words to her, that [[CharacterDevelopment Himiko is finally able to finally grieve for them and begin to express herself to honour her friend's memory.]]
** Angie's is that she's a TautologicalTemplar and believes herself to be in the right in everything because she is acting out Atua's will and [[ItsAllAboutMe she never considers other people's feelings]] because of this. She sets up a student council which is basically just a cult that answers to her and enforces rules she made up, dividing the students sharply into two factions. Her belief that everybody will abide by the rules she and the student council set up end up [[spoiler:directly contributing to her death, [[{{Hypocrite}} since she went to her lab alone at night]] to try bringing Rantaro back from the dead, accidentally stumbling on Korekiyo while he was setting a trap. He easily knocks her out and kills her, and her body isn't discovered into the next day because she wouldn't open the door to anyone except the student council and Kokichi was forced to pick the lock when Himiko couldn't get Angie to respond]].
** Tsumugi's flaw is her escapist tendencies; she immerses herself in the fictional worlds she cosplays to the point of actively rejecting reality. [[spoiler:She's ''such'' a fangirl of ''Danganronpa'' that she helped re-create the killing game and killed two people herself (killed Rantaro and got Kaede framed for it) as the Mastermind, and dies in the end because she couldn't bring herself to end the franchise.]]

* ''WebVideo/TheTake'': In their analysis of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBGuQl39XC0 Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada]], it's determined that the character's obsession with perfectionism is "both her greatest strength and her fatal flaw.'' It's allowed her to rise to the top of her industry and accomplish things that no one else could achieve, but it's also created a highly toxic work environment where no employee is ever truly secure in their position. Miranda herself is directly impacted by her own attitude; her staunch devotion to her career has made a stable home life virtually impossible to sustain, and the press is quick to demonize her for not adhering to accepted feminine standards, despite the fame and power she enjoys.

* ''WebVideo/TheTake'': In their analysis of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBGuQl39XC0 Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada]], it's determined that the character's obsession with perfectionism is "both her greatest strength and her fatal flaw.'' It's allowed her to rise to the top of her industry and accomplish things that no one else could achieve, but it's also created a highly toxic work environment where no employee is ever truly secure in their position. Miranda herself is directly impacted by her own attitude; her staunch devotion to her career has made a stable home life virtually impossible to sustain, and the press is quick to demonize her for not adhering to accepted feminine standards, despite the fame and power she enjoys.

* ''WebAnimation/OverlySarcasticProductions'': According to Red, [[{{Pride}} Hubris]].

* [[GeneralFailure Incompetence]]

* In ''WebVideo/TheLizzieBennetDiaries'', Lizzie's pride and stubborness has caused misunderstandings and problems between her and others, particular Darcy and Lydia. Fortunately, through CharacterDevelopment, she starts to work on improving from those flaws.

* [[TooCleverByHalf Overthinking]]

** [[spoiler:[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyDualDestinies The phantom]]]] has Paranoia; they could have easily escaped the game scot-free with no one even knowing of their involvement, but they just ''had'' to get rid of anything that might remotely incriminate them... which of course put them in a position to get all their crimes exposed in front of a courtroom.

** [[LightningBruiser Harriet Bree]]'s flaw are her loyalty to Ironwood and determination to follow orders. [[spoiler:Shortly before the destruction of Atlas, despite the rest of the Ace-Ops turning against Ironwood, Harriet personally tries carrying out Ironwood's plan to blow up Mantle out of loyalty. Once she comes to her senses, Dr. Arthur Watts has hacked the bomb so it can't be stopped, and Vine Zeki is forced to sacrifice himself to protect everyone else from the explosion; Harriet is left horrified and grief-stricken over the fact that someone she cared about is dead as a direct result of her actions.]]

** [[CoolBigSis Yang's]] impulsive personality makes her impatient, quick to anger, and prone to thrill-seeking, obsession and dangerously thoughtless acts. As a child, her obsession with finding her [[MissingMom birth mother]] meant that, the moment her father's back was turned, she dragged her sister on a quest to locate Raven. All she found was a nest of Grimm. If not for [[CoolUncle Qrow]] turning up just in time, both girls would have died. Although she now controls her obsession with her mother, she revels in thrill-seeking and [[TheBerserker weaponises]] her [[HairTriggerTemper quick temper]]: combining her wrath, impatience and [[SuperStrength Semblance]] allows her to win fights very quickly without bothering with either strategy or temperance. This fighting style makes her quite predictable to the villains, enabling Neo to defeat and almost kill her without receiving a single hit in return and also enabling Emerald and Mercury to disgrace her as a ruthless fighter who will hit an opponent who is already down.

** [[LadyOfBlackMagic Cinder Fall]] is an [[{{Narcissist}} egomaniac]], whose flaw is accompanied by [[{{Sadist}} sadism]], an insatiable [[AmbitionIsEvil hunger for power]] and a severe [[EvilIsPetty case of pettiness]]. This has led to her losing badly several times. Cinder's driven to uplift herself while bringing everyone else down, even if she has to pause to waste time gloating instead of completing the plan without incident. If someone she perceives as beneath her gets the better of her, she will pay them back in the worst way possible, even if doing so is either pointless or detrimental to the long-term plan. If she thinks there's a way to fulfill Salem's mission and get what she wants she'll go for it, no matter how risky it is. [[spoiler:Her cruel, arrogant lust for power finally gets the better of her near the end of Volume 5, when she falls for Raven's decoy and exposes herself to defeat by Raven's hand. In Volume 7, her need to gloat to Fria instead of immediately taking Fria's power gives the ailing Winter Maiden time to focus her mind and protect herself just long enough for help to arrive. Cinder then wastes even more time to take revenge on Winter for cutting off her Grimm arm, distracting Cinder from killing Fria and allowing Penny to become the new Winter Maiden instead.]]
** [[WesternTerrorists White Fang]] High Leader, [[WellIntentionedExtremist Sienna Khan]] sums up [[FantasticRacism Adam Taurus's]] weakness as [[GeneralFailure short-sightedness]]. He possesses the charisma to lead Vale's faction of the White Fang in any endeavour he supports; even when many [[LittleBitBeastly Faunus]] lose their lives during the Volume 2 finale, he is confident that his followers will continue to do his bidding. Claiming he's inspired by Sienna's strength, he joins forces with [[BigBad Salem]] to destroy [[ExtranormalInstitute Beacon Academy]]. Sienna is furious because Adam cannot see that his actions have justified humanity's hatred and fear of the Faunus and that the White Fang is now more of a target than it ever was. [[AntiHero Blake]] explains to Sun that Adam symbolises the concept of '[[EvilIsPetty spite]]' to her; the world hurt him, so he intends to hurt the world right back; he neither cares nor comprehends the wider consequences of his actions. He believes in Faunus superiority and plans for a day when humanity will be forced to serve the Faunus, but he's willing to ruin his own plans for short-term gain, such as the destruction of Beacon Academy or putting a hit out on Blake's family just because they oppose him. [[spoiler:Murdering Sienna to obtain control of the White Fang and trying to assassinate the Belladonnas motivates a previously neutral Menagerie to form an army for the sole purpose of stopping him from doing to Haven Academy what he did to Beacon; his ability to control the White Fang is therefore destroyed by his own weakness almost as soon as he set his plans in motion.]]
** [[BigGood Ozpin's]] desire to stop [[BigBad Salem]] is ultimately hampered by his [[PoorCommunicationKills inability to give a straight answer]] to any question regarding the [[SecretWar situation]] or his [[DarkAndTroubledPast past]]. He implies to the heroes that his behavior stems from a desire to avoid being betrayed, leading him to engage in deflections, half-truths, lying by omission and pure deception. While he wants the heroes to trust that he has good reasons for his decisions, his tactics inadvertently alienate his allies. Ironwood's frustration with Ozpin's passivity leads him to go behind Ozpin's back and override Ozpin's responsibility for protecting the Vytal Festival while Raven abandoned him and his cause by investigating the truth for herself. [[spoiler:Ruby's group learn the truth through the [[ArtifactOfPower Relic of Knowledge]], leading even the [[UndyingLoyalty loyal Qrow]] to [[BrokenPedestal turn on him]]; his [[HeroicBSOD response]] is to lock himself deep inside [[SharingABody Oscar's mind]] where even [[LegacyCharacter Oscar]] can't go. When Ironwood asks Oscar why Ozpin kept secret the truth about Salem, Oscar reveals that Ozpin keeps his secrets because he's terrified people will [[DespairEventHorizon lose all hope]].]]
** [[FourStarBadass General Ironwood]] is a good man, but his ability to do good is hampered by his [[TheParanoiac paranoia]]. His default tactic to any threat is overwhelming military force, which puts him at odds with Ozpin, Glynda and Qrow when he arrives in Vale with his army; while he thinks the show of force makes people feel safe, Ozpin points out it'll just make them wonder what the threat level is. While he expects others to trust him, Glynda points out that he's not willing to trust others in return. The mistrust and paranoia mean that he doesn't follow orders well because he's willing to turn on allies as soon as they do something he doesn't like, such as reporting Ozpin to the Vale Council after the first time the Grimm breach Vale's defenses. It also makes it easy for Cinder's manipulations to target him when the virus she uploads into Beacon's security network allows the villains to take control of the army he wasn't supposed to bring to Vale. Later, the villains pull similar moves on him in Atlas, ramping up his paranoia until he's willing to put Mantle under curfew, contemplate martial law and circumvent the democratic mandate of the Atlesian council just to get things done without having to share any information. The villains find him easy to manipulate while his allies find him difficult to work with. [[spoiler:When Cinder breaks into his office just to leave a Black Queen chess piece on his desk, Ironwood's paranoia manifests in a panic of second-guessing whether every decision he's made has played right into Salem's hands. After Salem manifests in his office, revealing her forces are on the way to Atlas, Ironwood orders the arrest of Teams RWBY and JNR, Qrow and Oscar. Convinced he's now exhausted his troops trying to evacuate Mantle, he dooms the city to death by deciding to fly Atlas higher into the heavens and orders the arrest of everyone who's not on board with that plan to ensure they can't thwart him.]]
** [[BornLucky Clover Ebi's]] flaw is his loyalty to Ironwood. [[spoiler:In "With Friends Like These", when General Ironwood ordered the arrests of RWBY, JNR, Oscar and Qrow, Clover blindly follows his orders, which is one of the factors that leads to the Manta crashing. During his fight with Qrow and Tyrian, Clover is so focused on following orders that he initially focuses solely on Qrow, leading Tyrian to manipulate the situation in his favour and ultimately kill him.]]
** [[LightningBruiser Harriet Bree]] has two, her loyalty to Ironwood and determination to follow orders. [[spoiler:At the climax of Volume 8, despite the rest of the Ace-Ops realizing how far Ironwood has fallen and turning on him, Harriet not only continues to support him, but attempts to personally carry out his plan to bomb Mantle on principle. By the time she comes to her senses, Dr. Watts has hacked the bomb so it can't be stopped, and Vine is forced to sacrifice himself to protect everyone else from the explosion; Harriet is left horrified and grief-stricken over the fact that someone she cared about is dead as a direct result of her actions.]]