Line #9 WebAnimation/BrokenSaints


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Brkensaintsimage1.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: (from left) Shandala, Kamimura, Raimi, and Oran.]]
3
4	->''"What would you give to know the truth?"''
5	-->--'''{{Tagline}}'''
6
7	''Broken Saints'' (2001-2003) is an [[WebAnimation original web animation series]] in twenty-four chapters. It was created over the course of two years by writer Brooke Burgess, artist Andrew West, and programmer[=/=]Flash wiz Ian Kirby, featuring music composed by Burgess's cousin Tobias Tinker. The format is a hybrid of comic and animation formats, and is referred to by Burgess frequently as "cinematic literature". As in comics, characters remain mostly in static poses, and dialogue is depicted in speech balloons, but there are a number of times when movement is used within 'panels', and the series frequently uses background music and sound effects to add to the overall cinematic effect.
8
9	The story focuses on four strangers from "the quiet corners of the globe", each from a wildly different background and worldview than the others, who all receive similar traumatizing visions of impending doom and are drawn to the same place in search of answers. Along the way, they face their inner demons and learn about ThePowerOfLove.
10
11	The story is told in twenty-four chapters, with many chapters frequently sub-divided into multiple acts. The total running time for the series is ten and a half hours. The series was released on DVD with added voiceovers, plus bonus features and commentaries, by Creator/TwentiethCenturyFox in 2006. Among the voice cast are Creator/JanyseJaud, Creator/KirbyMorrow, Creator/MichaelDobson, Creator/DavidKaye, and Creator/ScottMcNeil.
12
13	Brooke Burgess has stated frequently that some of his biggest influences in the conception of ''Broken Saints'' were Creator/DavidLynch (specifically ''Series/TwinPeaks''), Creator/TerryGilliam, ''Series/{{The Prisoner\|1967}}'', and ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', all of which are referenced frequently over the course of the series.
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15
16	The series in its entirety can be viewed [[http://www.newgrounds.com/collection/brokensaints.html here]].
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18	Best not to look at the spoilers here. Most of them relate to the last few chapters.
19	----
20	!!This series provides examples of:
21
22	* ArchNemesisDad: The BigBad is [[spoiler:Lear Dunham]] who also happens to be [[spoiler: Shandala's biological father]].
23	* ArcWords:
24	** The most important example would be the SignificantAnagram below.
25	** [[{{Tagline}} "What would you give to know the truth?"]]
26	** "This was not meant for me!"
27	** "The End is Nigh!"
28	*** Similarly, "Know the Signs", "Weep and Bear Witness", and just about ''anything'' that appears on the Vagrant's board.
29	* {{Animesque}}: The influence of anime in the art of this series was more obvious in the early version of the first episodes, before the AnimationBump, with those episodes being redone in a more realistic style. However, the anime influence was still noticeable.
30	* ArtEvolution: A very drastic one. In the DVD release, the first twelve episodes were completely redone to match the quality of the second half.
31	* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Gabriel's "Walking on Coals" stunt was probably played up for dramatic purposes, as short walks on hot charcoals don't usually cause great harm (although firewalking can still cause serious burns, and relaxing and mentally preparing oneself before talking the walk can help with blood flow and in minimizing damage to the feet.)
32	* AuthorTract: Brooke Burgess makes no effort to hide the fact that the series' inspiration was his changing worldview around the turn of the millennium.
33	* BerserkButton: Shandala's is a common one: when those close to her are in danger.
34	* BewareTheNiceOnes:
35	** Shandala gets ''reeeeeeally'' scary when her familial BerserkButton is pushed.
36	** [[spoiler:Mysterious NiceGuy Gabriel reveals himself to have a ''seriously'' evil side to him.]]
37	* BigBad: [[spoiler:Lear Dunham.]]
38	** TheManBehindTheMan
39	* BittersweetEnding: At the end, [[spoiler:the world is saved, but both Shandala and Kamimura are dead, and Papa Tui has lost all his family.]]
40	* BookEnds: Each chapter opens with an animation and ends with the same animation being played in reverse. For the entire series there is [[spoiler:Shandala's opening speech, the island Lomalagi, and the shot of the two planets which are now blue instead of red]].
41	* BreakTheCutie: Shandala. The entire execution of [[spoiler:Lear's plan relies on Shandala being nurtured and loved in a utopian environment all her life, and then promptly subjected to this treatment]].
42	* ChekhovsGunman: [[spoiler:The hobo with the apocalyptic sign, who turns out to be an holographic projection of the BigBad, Lear Dunham.]]
43	* ChekhovMIA: [[spoiler:Lear Dunham.]]
44	* ContemplateOurNavels: The well-done kind, in many ''many'' chapters, especially early ones.
45	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Benjamin Palmer, head of BIOCOM, and [[spoiler:in a less conventional way, Lear]].
46	* CrapsackWorld[=/=]AWorldHalfFull
47	* CreatorCameo: Brooke Burgess voices Gabriel, which is considerably more than a cameo, but this is played straighter with Andrew West, who plays a street tough; Ian Kirby, who plays a Canadian soldier; and Tobias Tinker, who plays a bum.
48	* CreepyCrosses: In Raimi's lucid dream in Chapter 7, rising crosses are depicted in the context of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. [[WordOfGod According to the commentary track]], partly a nod to ''Music/TheWall''.
49	* CrucifiedHeroShot:[[spoiler: At the end of the second act from chapter 19, Shandala is found by other main characters in this position inside Mars' club. In the GrandFinale of the series, she also appears in this way.]]
50	* DarkAndTroubledPast: The four heroes. Big time.
51	* DeadpanSnarker: Raimi, though he's a not a supporting character, but a main character. And a viewpoint one.
52	* DepravedHomosexual: It is implied in the story, and even more so in the commentary tracks, that Palmer has a thing for little boys.
53	* TheDragon: [[spoiler:Gabriel.]]
54	* DreamSequence: Multiple times. Most notable, Acts 2 through 5 of Chapter 20 pretty much consist simply of [[DarkAndTroubledPast revealing]] {{flashback}}s told in this fashion, culminating [[spoiler:in a final vision that spiritually unites the four heroes and awakens Shandala from her psuedo-comatose state]].
55	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:General Briggs]], in the prologue to Chapter 24.
56	* DrivingQuestion: What's with the dreams? What is the truth this {{Tagline}} keeps talking about?
57	* [[spoiler:EarnYourHappyEnding: And ''hoo boy'', do they!]]
58	* ElementalPowers: Subverted in that the four heroes do not actually have the ability to control said elements so much as the elements reflect their personalities. The connection comes from [[spoiler:the spiritual analogy in the collective [[BuffySpeak dream vision sequence epiphany thing]] of Chapter 20, Act 5]].
59	* TheEmpath: Shandala.
60	* EmpathyPet: Shandala's kitty, Bula.
61	* EnhancedOnDVD: The first half was redrawn for the DVD release. Oh, and the DVD version is the one with voices.
62	* {{Epigraph}}: At the beginning and end of each chapter.
63	* EtherealChoir: A number of pieces, used heavily near the end of the series.
64
65	* EvilRedhead: [[spoiler:Lear. His son Gabriel seems to be strawberry blonde as well, and it only gets redder in the evil lair's dramatic lighting.]]
66	* EvilTowerOfOminousness: The BIOCOM tower.
67	* {{Expy}}: They may be rather different in terms of personality, but Charles and Bravado are practically identical to [[Franchise/StreetFighter Guile and Charlie]] in appearance.
68	* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Lear and Shandala.]]
69	** Don't forget Oran. During one flashback, we see how he gets that scar. And in one episode he was going to have a chip placed inside one of his eyes.
70	* FetalPositionRebirth: Used in one of the introductory animations (a.k.a. 'covers') that bookend each chapter.
71	* FlashbackNightmare: Poor, poor Shandala...
72	* {{Foreshadowing}}: In "Forecast", Raimi and Oran met a fortuneteller who does a tarot reading for Raimi and advices him to "chose love". [[spoiler:Guess [[ThePowerOfLove what]] ends destroying the BigBad plans.]]
73	* GrandFinale: It all comes full circle, too.
74	* [[spoiler:TheHeroDies: Well, two out of four do.]]
75	* HeroicBSOD: This happens to Shandala ''big time''. Given [[BreakTheCutie what's happening to her]], it's amazing she's not stuck in this mode the whole rest of the story.
76	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Shandala and Kamimura.]]
77	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Raimi and Oran.
78	* HiddenVillain:[[spoiler:Lear Dunham]]
79	* {{Homage}}:
80	** Many of the animated "covers" that bookend each chapter. Among the works paid tribute to are ''Series/TwinPeaks'', ''Series/{{The Prisoner\|1967}}'', ''Film/{{Brazil}}'', ''Film/FightClub'', ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'', ''Film/TheMatrix'', and ''Film/DonnieDarko''.
81	** Lt. Charles and Lt. Bravado are creator-acknowledged homages to Guile and Charlie from ''Franchise/StreetFighter''.
82	* InconsistentEpisodeLengths: Every episode is longer than the one that came before it, and may be accompanied by multiple acts, usually including a POV shift; this culminates in a 5-act finale that takes up 1.5 hours of the series' 10 hour runtime.
83	* IGaveMyWord: "He had given his word... and his word was his bond."
84	* IronicEcho: Masayuki's "eggs and poop" metaphor, which turns out to be a much more important message than anyone would think...
85	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Both Raimi and Oran.
86	* JustBetweenYouAndMe: Justified. [[spoiler:Lear tells the heroes his plan because he wants them to know the truth and be his first apostles.]]
87	* KnightTemplar: [[spoiler:Lear and Gabriel.]]
88	* LockedIntoStrangeness: When Shandala wakes from her vision-induced coma, she undoes her hairwrap revealing that her hair has gone from light brown to pure white.
89	* LukeIAmYourFather: While never stated in that fashion, [[spoiler:Lear tells the other three heroes that he is Shandala's biological father]].
90	* MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter: [[spoiler:Shandala]], in an unconventional way.
91	* MeaningfulEcho:
92	** "''I believe.''"
93	** Shandala's opening monologue from Chapter 1 is repeated almost verbatim as the final lines of Chapter Twenty-Four, only there they end with an actual resolution.
94	* MeaningfulName: Gabriel, Oran's father Osama, Mars and his henchmen Phobos and Deimos, the island of [[{{Heaven}} Lomalagi]].
95	* MegaCorp: BIOCOM.
96	* MindScrew: The early chapters can be a bit confusing, though it gets more clear as the story goes on.
97	* MindRape: The visions the four receive are traumatic psychic assaults. Shandala's left her unconscious for days and [[LockedIntoStrangeness whitened her hair]].
98	* MoodWhiplash: A few glimpses of humor can appear in the most unexpected moment.
99	* MrExposition: Raimi, especially in Chapter 15, but also in general until [[spoiler:the last chapter, when the duty falls to Lear, as BigBad, to unveil his scheme]].
100	* NiceGuy: Gabriel [[spoiler:except not. So, ''so'' not]].
101	* OminousLatinChanting: All courtesy of classical pieces from Chapter 24.
102	* OneWomanWail: Used to chilling effect in Chapter 24, Act 4.
103	* PortmanteauCoupleName: [[HoYay Oraimi]], which is the name of an actual music cue on the soundtrack, combining Oran and Raimi's themes. [[invoked]]
104	* ThePowerOfLove: What the whole series is about--and best of all, it doesn't come off as cheesy.
105	* ReligiousAndMythologicalThemeNaming: Most prominently, Gabriel. This is kinda-sorta-lampshaded in one of the epigraphs taken from Literature/TheBible, referring to the ArchangelGabriel.
106	* TheReveal: Many, usually at the end of a chapter.
107	* TheQuietOne: Kami.
108	* SadClown: Raimi.
109	* ScaryBlackMan: Deimos, bouncer at the Mars strip club.
110	* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: [[spoiler:Lear, at times.]] It might take some viewers a couple viewings of the finale to understand exactly what he's saying.
111	* SexySecretary: Sandra, while not played as a complete sexpot, certainly catches Raimi's eye.
112	* ShipTease: Oran and Shandala get the most. Well, apart from [[HoYay Oran and Raimi]]...
113	* ShirtlessScene:
114	** Oran through a good portion of the series.
115	** Gabriel practically introduces himself by getting naked. [[spoiler:He also goes shirtless for the final battle.]]
116	* SignificantAnagram: LEAR SPEC SILO [[spoiler:/ CLOSE AS PERIL / ILL SCOPE ARES / COLLAPSE RISE / A SCORE I SELL / SOLAR ECLIPSE (which is never said, but does happen)]].
117	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: [[spoiler:[[EarnYourHappyEnding It's quite a rough road getting there]], but in the end... firmly on the idealistic side.]]
118	* TheSmartGuy: Raimi--see also 'Mr. Exposition' above.
119	%%* SoapboxSquare
120	* SociopathicSoldier: Lt. Charles and Lt. Bravado, while obviously not actual grunts, fit this description all too well.
121	* SuperpoweredEvilSide: [[spoiler:Mad Shandala = completely terrifying.]]
122	* {{Tagline}}: "What would you give to know the truth?"
123	* TarotMotifs: There's half a chapter dedicated just to laying out the spiritual arc the rest of the series would follow using tarot cards.
124	* UnexplainedRecovery: Oran and Raimi, [[spoiler:after severe wounds in the final confrontation]].
125	* UrbanFantasy: While the series stays mostly in the realm of science-fiction, there are mystical elements as well.
126	* WeCanRuleTogether: [[spoiler:Lear's entire reason for explaining his plan to the heroes is so that they may see the genius of it and be his first apostles.]]
127	* WhamEpisode: The infamous Chapter 22 Act 2, [[TheReveal Chapter 23 Act 3]], and just about every Act of [[GrandFinale Chapter 24]].
128	* [[spoiler:YouAreTooLate: Either Type 1 or Type 5 here.]]

Context WebAnimation / BrokenSaints