History BreakTheCutie / WesternAnimation

** Adrien during almost every interaction with his father. In fact, the constant ''Main/ParentalNeglect'' may count as a slow, torturous case of it.
** Marinette seems to be heading towards this as of the end of the third season and into Season 4 due to the pressure and responsibility of being Ladybug, especially after [[spoiler: Master Fu passes his guardianship of the Miracle Box onto her, at the cost of his memories]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Luz goes through this ''four times'':

* This is what the first arc of the ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' cartoon was trying to do to Jubilee. The Unspoken {{Backstory}} that her parents had been killed (by assassins looking for the Lees down the street and got lost) and she was in a foster home, then when she'd finally come to terms with THAT, they register her with a front organization for Project Wideawake. So the Sentinels come, after she runs away. Oh, but that doesn't stop the metal monsters from killing her step-parents. It may not get worse, but it doesn't get better quickly.

* From ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'' there's the episode "Emperor Joker" where the [[RealityWarper Reality Warping]] Batmite tries to help {{Franchise/Batman}} without breaking an earlier promise he made about not using his powers. He resolves to lend Batman his powers but misses, hitting Joker instead and giving the villain the power to bend reality to his will. As a result of this the Joker [[ApocalypseHow destroys the universe]]. Now powerless Batmite is tormented by an Imp version of the Joker, [[NightmareFuel Jokermite]]; ForcedToWatch his hero be killed mercilessly over and over again in different painful methods and be humiliated and demoted to [[TheFool Court Jester]] all the while plagued by the knowledge that this is all his fault.

* Aya from ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'', in the episode: "Cold Fury", Razer rejects her and it causes her pain, she then shuts down her emotions and decides she wants nothing to do with organics. [[spoiler:After coming to her senses and while healing Razer, she begins showing remorse for her actions.]]

* Terra from the animated ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'' started out cracked, then met Slade, who did his best to finish breaking her.
** Some villains attempt to do this a few other Titans, but they usually recover and/or defeat the villain tormenting them.

* The ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' episode "Failsafe" breaks [[spoiler: Miss Martian, after she loses control of her powers and accidentally pulls a HolodeckMalfunction on the team during a training exercise, rewriting their memories to make them believe the simulation was real and leaving them all in comas when they "died." She collapses in tears at the end of the episode when she learns what happened.]]
** The [[spoiler:HolodeckMalfunction]] a pretty good job of breaking [[spoiler:Robin]], too. It's not really touched upon until the following episode, but the burden of [[spoiler:sending his friends to their deaths]] took its toll on him, and made him realize [[spoiler:that he didn't want to become the Batman]].
** In "Misplaced" it's [[spoiler:Zatanna]]'s turn to be broken [[spoiler:when her father takes her place as Nabu's host (effectively killing him). One of the last scenes of the episode is Zatanna sitting alone in her new room at Young Justice headquarters crying her heart out.]]
** Miss Martian, again, starting about 1/3 of the way through "Depths" and several episodes afterwards where she [[spoiler: commits MindRape against Aqualad, discovering that he was TheMole all along, but destroying his mind in the process.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', this happens to Finn a lot, but by far his biggest example was in "The New Frontier". Nearly losing your best friend/only relative to a YouCantFightFate type of suicide? Not the best thing to happen to you. He also has another one in "Too Young" when Princess Bubblegum just broke up with him, and he goes through a HeroicBSOD when she pushes him further away in "Incendium".
** It's also one of the few times Finn [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness actually cries]].
** This has since been topped by "Escape from the Citadel," in [[spoiler:which the Lich returns, Finn's biological father turns out to be a capital "A" arsehole, and Finn even loses his right arm]].
** Lots of recent episodes seem to be this trope on laser guidance. Finn tries to get one tiny thing done and the entire world gangs up on him. See "Blood under the skin", "Another Way", etc.

** Little Marceline (as well as Teen and adult marcy) Was DEFENITELY this MANY times. Part one was having to witness HALF of the human population die from TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, her ParentalSubstitute lost ALL his memories, had a abusive JerkAss father, was betrayed by a LOT of friends, etc. This DEFINITELY isn't all she went through. Not to mention her tendency to frighten other people away so that no more harm would come to her.
* The 8 children of ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'' play a role in this trope. As babies in ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'', Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Kimi (excluding Dil, due to being a few months too young at the time for character development) had no serious worries (aside from Angelica and other episodic misunderstandings) compared to their 10-year pre-teen future-selves. In ''All Grown Up'', the children deal with various life difficulties as they attend school. Occasionally, the problems they face would delve into heavier issues, which would put them at each other's throats, like a loose spoof of ''Franchise/{{Degrassi}}'', making their toddler years seem like bliss.
** Some example would include Tommy and Chuckie's friendship being strained in "Fear of Falling" and "TP + KF", Phil & Lil having a less-than-inseparable bond in "Coup Deville" and "Separate But Equal", and Chuckie and Kimi's sibling bond being strained in "Memoirs of a Finster" and "Petition This".

** Happens TWICE in the Season 2 finale: first when [[spoiler: normally cheerful Marcy's DarkSecret is revealed, causing her to go on a MotiveRant while bursting into BrokenTears]]; again when [[spoiler: King Andrias drops Sprig, with Anne bursting into tears and going into a SuperMode]].
** Things get worse in Season 3 for [[spoiler: Marcy. After being IMPALED through the chest by Andrias' flaming sword, Andrias uses her as the host for a MindHive called The Core, with the poor girl in visible terror as The Core prepares to take over her body and then screaming in agony as she is effectively {{Mind Rape}}d by the monstrosity]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'', Episode Five o Clock Shadows, An Alternate Version of Mandy is Seen That was Very Cute and Innocent, She Also Really Liked Unicorns. However When Mandy Told Her Shadow That Unicorns Do not Exist and that They Are Just Toys Made in a Factory in Detroit and That Enchanted Oats is Just Mustard She Then Starts Crying Only to Then Toughen Up and Lose Her Innocence/Cuteness Becoming Just as Edgy as the Real Mandy and the Two Become Indistinguishable from Each Other at the end of the episode

* The unproduced ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' episode "Life Sucks" was going to be a ''huge'' one for Stimpy; fans have guessed it was a prelude to Ren Seeks Help, where poor Stimpy is finally broken.

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[[folder:M-Z]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali'': In "Molly and the Great One", Trini's mom Joy comes home after serving in the military. They enjoy their time together, but Joy eventually has to leave. Trini breaks down crying, because Joy always leaves and all she wants is her to stay forever.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'''s first act is all about showing how Powder would become Jinx. [[spoiler:While trying to save her family, she accidentally kills two of them and gets hit and yelled at by her older sister for causing said accident. Then her older sister is taken away, with the two never meeting again for years, with Powder ending up mentally scarred from the guilt, anger, and separation.]]

** Played semi-straight in the episode "Bubblevicious". Bubbles essentially induces this on herself, trying to become as strong as her sisters. She loses her sweet act and becomes rather brutal (read: bitchy). This culminates with Bubbles taking it up a notch after Mojo Jojo tries to torture her and break her even further. Bubbles wouldn't have any of that shit. Luckily, though, [[BewareTheNiceOnes after probably deadening a majority of Mojo's nerve cells]], her sisters come and snap her out of it quite quickly.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresofBilly&Mandy'', Episode Five o Clock Shadows, An Alternate Version of Mandy is Seen That was Very Cute and Innocent, She Also Really Liked Unicorns. However When Mandy Told Her Shadow That Unicorns Do not Exist and that They Are Just Toys Made in a Factory in Detroit and That Enchanted Oats is Just Mustard She Then Starts Crying Only to Then Toughen Up and Lose Her Innocence/Cuteness Becoming Just as Edgy as the Real Mandy and the Two Become Indistinguishable from Each Other at the end of the episode

* In the ''WesternAnimation/GrimAdventuresofBillyandMandy'', Episode Five o Clock Shadows, An Alternate Version of Mandy is Seen That was Very Cute and Innocent, She Also Really Liked Unicorns. However When Mandy Told Her Shadow That Unicorns Do not Exist and that They Are Just Toys Made in a Factory in Detroit and That Enchanted Oats is Just Mustard She Then Starts Crying Only to Then Toughen Up and Lose Her Innocence/Cuteness Becoming Just as Edgy as the Real Mandy and the Two Become Indistinguishable from Each Other at the end of the episode

* Both Sofia and Amber suffer from this on ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'' from time to time. The most notable examples are in "Once Upon A Princess" , "The Curse Of Princess Ivy", and "The Mystic Isles".
** In the first movie, Sofia is having a hard time adjusting to Royal life while Amber is jealous on how she's being neglected by others in favor of Sofia. When Sofia ends up humiliating herself in dance class, she's crushed on how Amber willingly set this up. She becomes even sadder when she unknowingly uses Cedric's spell to put everyone in the ballroom to sleep, and she doesn't know who to turn to. Wow! As for Amber, even with her behavior, you still feel bad for her considering she wants to feel special. After the incident in dance class, James, ''her own brother'' , tells her off on how he likes Sofia more. This is turn followed up by her hearing the castle maids talk about how Sofia is the prettiest princess in the castle, bringing her to tears. Dang!

** It happens again when he becomes a "vampire" (actually just a fad of pretending to be a vampire induced by the new ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' movie, but he thinks it's real)

* This trope is the main reason why "Queen for a Day" from ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'' is such a WhamEpisode. In the course of a single episode, Varian, the alchemist that Rapunzel befriended, [[spoiler: loses his home to the black spikes that have been plaguing the land; proceeds to experiment on said spikes, causing him to accidentally imprison his father in a CrystalPrison and lastly, tries to go to Rapunzel for help, only for her to turn him away since [[TheNeedsOfTheMany she had to prioritize the safety of her kingdom over the wellbeing of one person. Then he gets home and finds that it's too late to help his father, leaving him sobbing on the floor. And after all these disasters, Varian's problem is the only one that wasn't solved by the end of the episode. The final result? Varian ''[[StartOfDarkness snaps]]'', swearing that he'll save his father no matter the cost and enact {{revenge}} on the entire kingdom for abandoning him, thus [[BigBadSlippage becoming the main antagonist of the latter half of Season 1]].]] Just...''damn.''

* This trope is the main reason why "Queen for a Day" from ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'' is such a WhamEpisode. In the course of a single episode, Varian, the alchemist that Rapunzel befriended, [[spoiler: loses his home to the black spikes that have been plaguing the land; proceeds to experiment on said spikes, causing him to lose his ''father'' thanks to a HeroicSacrifice; and lastly, tries to go to Rapunzel for help, only for her to turn him away since she has her own slew of problems to deal with at the time (a cataclysmatic blizzard bestowed by Zhan Tiri is threatening to tear Corona apart and ''both her parents'' are in even more fatal danger than Varian's issue at the moment). Then he gets home and finds that it's too late to help his father, leaving him sobbing on the floor. And after all these disasters, Varian's problem is the only one that wasn't solved by the end of the episode. The final result? Varian ''[[StartOfDarkness snaps]]'', swearing that he'll save his father no matter the cost and take {{revenge}} on those who will stand or have stood in his way...including Rapunzel.]] Just...''damn.''

* The 8 children of ''WesternAnimation/AllGrownUp'' play a role in this trope. As babies in ''WesternAnimation/{{Rugrats}}'', Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Kimi (excluding Dil, due to being a few months too young at the time for character development) had no serious worries (aside from Angelica and other episodic misunderstandings) compared to their 10-year pre-teen future-selves. In All Grown Up, the children deal with various life difficulties as they attend school. Occasionally, the problems they face would delve into heavier issues, which would put them at each other's throats, like a loose spoof of ''Franchise/{{Degrassi}}'', making their toddler years seem like bliss.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bluey}}:'' Happens to [[CheerfulChild Bluey]], herself, towards the end of the episode, 'Camping'. When she found out from her Mum that [[spoiler: Jean-Luc left the campsite]], she goes back to the place where they'd planted a tree and tearfully breaks down.

* In the last episode of ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall'', Greg [[spoiler: has been convinced by the beast to give up hope and let himself be turned into an edelwood tree, and when Wirt finds him, he tells him that he stole the rock that he uses for rock facts, while a depressing version of "Potatoes and Molasses" plays.]] This is the same Greg that sang silly songs and was just a giant [[CloudCuckooLander CloudCuckooLander]] in general, although he does get better.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Hilda}}'':
** One notable example comes from "The Nightmare Spirit". Only this time, she's scared. The episode reveals her secret: Her inability to ride a bike. Just before Frida, David, and Johanna save her from her nightmare, Hilda is seen mentally and physically tortured by the Marra, screaming in terror in her sleep.
** Another example is from "The Deerfox". Hilda has a severe massive breakdown over everything that changed in her former home, especially when she has to let Twig go. Despite Twig deciding to stay with Hilda in the end, hearing and seeing Hilda crying is hard to watch. Her dialogue throughout is also powerful enough to tug at viewers' heartstrings, if it hadn't been for Bella Ramsey's voice-acting. In addition, while recording her lines, Ramsey was actually in tears!
-->'''Hilda:''' But that's all it is! Memories. Out house is gone. The mountains are gone. Our life here's gone. And now...[tears up] Now, Twig's gone too.

* Terra from the animated ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' started out cracked, then met Slade, who did his best to finish breaking her.

* The ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' episode "Failsafe" breaks [[spoiler: Miss Martian, after she loses control of her powers and accidentally pulls a HolodeckMalfunction on the team during a training exercise, rewriting their memories to make them believe the simulation was real and leaving them all in comas when they "died." She collapses in tears at the end of the episode when she learns what happened.]]

* This is what the first arc of the ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' cartoon was trying to do to Jubilee. The Unspoken {{Backstory}} that her parents had been killed (by assassins looking for the Lees down the street and got lost) and she was in a foster home, then when she'd finally come to terms with THAT, they register her with a front organization for Project Wideawake. So the Sentinels come, after she runs away. Oh, but that doesn't stop the metal monsters from killing her step-parents. It may not get worse, but it doesn't get better quickly.

* WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy usually plays with this as most of the characters go through some of the most horrible incidents that someone can go through. But it's played straight with Lois during the ChristmasEpisode in the earlier seasons. All the presents given to another family? Hey, another family benefits from the charity. House burn down? At least everyone's safe. Your turkey is ruined? We can work something out. [[TheLastStraw Out of paper-towels]]? Oh, snap.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}'''s first act is all about showing how Powder would become Jinx.

* WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse: 11-year-old Ben Tennyson after Malware destroys Feedback as seen in a flashback from Showdown: Part 1

** Luz gets an even bigger one in "Hollow Mind"; [[BigBad Emperor Belos]], who up until that point she had assumed was simply an evil tyrant, reveals to her that he's actually ''Philip Wittebane'', the previous human visitor to the Demon Realm before Luz, and someone Luz deeply admired and looked up to. Not only that, but Luz had in a previous episode gone back in time and [[StableTimeLoop given Philip something he needed for his plans]], which Belos makes sure she knows. Finally, Belos reveals that he's not just a tyrant, but a witch hunter who's planning an outright ''genocide against everyone in the demon realm''. The revelation that she is in part responsible for the rise of a genocidal dictator leaves Luz utterly broken, ending the episode on a ThousandYardStare]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'': Luz goes through this twice:

** Played semi-straight in the episode "Bubblevicious". Bubbles essentially induces this on herself, trying to become as strong as her sisters. She loses her sweet act and becomes rather brutal (read: bitchy). This culminates with Bubbles taking it UpToEleven after Mojo Jojo tries to torture her and break her even further. Bubbles wouldn't have any of that shit. Luckily, though, [[BewareTheNiceOnes after probably deadening a majority of Mojo's nerve cells]], her sisters come and snap her out of it quite quickly.

* The Joker did this in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'' where during Bruce's time he [[spoiler:kidnaps Tim Drake and tortures/{{MindRape}}s him into giving up Batman's secrets (including SecretIdentity) as well as making him into a miniature version of The Joker known as J.J (Joker Jr.) to fit into a sick excuse of a family unit with Harley Quinn and him.]] This is shown as enough to convince Batman to try and kill Joker, (meaning the Joker finally broke Batman, too) [[spoiler:which he fails to do... but is saved by the still-broken Tim killing the Joker after Joker tries to get him to kill the subdued Batman. This only further adds to his trauma.]] Although he does get better, Tim is forever traumatized and never again becomes Robin in the DCAU.

** In "Karate Choppers", Mr. Krabs catches what appears to be [=SpongeBob=] doing karate with Sandy when he told him not to (even though the sponge isn't doing anything), thus he fires him. This sends the sponge into a rather long tantrum over losing his job leaving Sandy to reason.