History BrokenAesop / AnimeAndManga

* ''LightNovel/TheFruitOfEvolution'' has the overarching moral of [[PrejudiceAesop judging others based on their character instead of their appearance]], starting all the way in the second episode when Seiichi has to realize he was wrong about judging Saria for being an ugly gorilla monster when she [[TakingTheBullet takes an almost-fatal strike]] to save him. Later on, the series uses TheEmpire and the armies of MaouTheDemonKing to explore and show the problems of bigotry and discrimination. Unfortunately, this moral is broken because BeautyEqualsGoodness is in full effect in this series--Seiichi and various members of his harem get ProgressivelyPrettier with every power upgrade, and reasonable characters on each side of the various issues are portrayed as attractive while jerks and incompetents are nearly always [[{{Gonk}} ugly]]. It takes 11 episodes to show a heroic character that is not conventionally attractive, and the only villainous character that's not a hideous {{Gonk}} doesn't even show up until over halfway through the 12th and final episode of the series.

** The prior Cell arc also attempted to feature this moral, claiming that Goku creates more issues than he solves and the world is better off without him, and he needs to step aside to let the next generation of heroes take place. However, the rest of the arc seems to show how ''essential'' Goku is. His death in Trunks's timeline is directly cited as the reason for the BadFuture, the completely unheralded arrival of Trunks was the only thing apart from him preventing the earth from being annihilated by Frieza and his father, he rescues multiple people from certain doom over the course of the arc, he introduces the characters to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber that gives them even a chance to contain Cell, he comes up with a training method that allows him and Gohan to stand toe-to-toe with Perfect Cell and brings Gohan to the brink of Super Saiyan 2, he stops Cell's self-destruct from destroying the Earth, and his encouragement is what enables Gohan to win the final BeamOWar. Though he's hardly free of stupid or detrimental actions in the arc (most famously the senzu bean incident), nearly every character has at least one major screwup under their belt, and none do as much as Goku does to make up for it. If anything, much of the reason things go badly in the arc is because Goku spends most of it [[DeusExitMachina either incapacitated or training.]]

* ''LightNovel/BanishedFromTheHerosParty'', which is set in a world where a God-given Blessing determines your status from birth, attempts to teach ScrewDestiny by showing the protagonists going against their Blessings to live a peaceful and happy life in the countryside, and teaching others to do the same in turn. However, Blessings are not just a job or a societal role--they are also a fundamental part of each person that determines his or her unique set of powers as well. For example, Ruti is not the legendary Hero fated to defeat MaouTheDemonKing and his armies because society said so, but because she is the only person blessed with the power to actually do it. As a result, the protagonists leaving the front lines where their unique gifts and skills were needed to fight off the demon crisis in order to pursue their own happiness running a farm or apothecary ends up affecting many people whose lives are now presumably more at risk, and comes off as incredibly selfish and callous act.

* ''LightNovel/IrinaTheVampireCosmonaut'' wants to make a statement about racism through having a vampire suffering bigotry in a stand-in for the Soviet space program, but falls flat because it tries to have things both ways - it starts by telling us several legitimate reasons for why humans would hate and fear a race that's faster, stronger, and regularly kills them for food, but then [[InformedAttribute fails to actually show any of these]] with the eponymous Irina, who has [[OurVampiresAreDifferent almost no vampire-like attributes]], much less any of the ones that would ''warrant'' all the hatred thrown her way, so as to make her more appealing as a protagonist.

* ''LightNovel/IrinaTheVampireCosmonaut'' wants to make a statement about racism through having a vampire suffering bigotry in a stand-in for the Soviet space program, but falls flat because it tries to have things both ways - it starts by telling us several legitimate reasons for why humans would hate and fear a race that's faster, stronger, and regularly kills them for food, but then [[InformedAttribute fails to actually show any of these]] when we get a vampire on-screen, with the eponymous Irina [[OurVampiresAreDifferent having almost no vampire-like attributes]], much less any of the ones that would ''warrant'' all the hatred thrown her way, so as to make her more appealing as a protagonist.

* ''LightNovel/IrinaTheVampireCosmonaut'' wants to make a statement about racism through having a vampire suffering bigotry in a stand-in for the Soviet space program, but falls flat because it tries to have things both ways - it starts by telling us several legitimate reasons for why humans would hate and fear a race that's faster, stronger, and regularly kills them for food, but then [[ShowDontTell fails to actually show any of these]] when we get a vampire on-screen, with the eponymous Irina [[OurVampiresAreDifferent having almost no vampire-like attributes]], much less any of the ones that would ''warrant'' all the hatred thrown her way, so as to make her more appealing as a protagonist.

* ''Manga/IfMyFavoriteIdolMadeItToTheBudokanIWouldDie'' attempts to dismantle a common stereotype in Japanese media by showing that idol {{otaku}} are not creepy, obsessive, crazed stalkers by showing that they're truly good people who support their favorite groups and idols because they want them to succeed. However, Eripiyo's behavior ends up unintentionally reinforcing some very negative stereotypes of idol otaku: she's fanatically devoted to buying Maina's merchandise, gets so excited upon seeing her that she at one point passes out and has to have medical help, and in general her entire life seems to revolve around Maina. While she may not be a creepy StalkerWithACrush, her behavior still comes across as an unhealthy obsession.

** The fact that a lot of the show resolves around how soccer is a pure sport and should be played without any methods that aren't natural in soccer (the super-dimensional aspect of it obviously being natural in-universe) can come off as broken when the "mixi-max" ability is introduced. Unlike all the other super-dimensional aspects which involve naturally evolving the ability to use the moves, this one isn't natural and involves having to take and transfer someone's aura with electronic guns. Although the ability can be done naturally too which is seen twice, and you do have to train to match the transfer subject's aura, most of the mixi-maxing is done by force with equipment. Which kinda squishes the moral that you're not supposed to use unnatural enhancements in sport.
** A lot of the lessons of the show is based around the fact that winning isn't everything. Which can come off as odd when the characters constantly mention and empathize how they ''must'' win certain matches and if they don't then everything they've built up become shattered. This is more confusing then broken, since the specific moral is supposed to be that you should fight to win and tell you have to win, but if you ''do'' lose then that's still okay.
** The fact that violence shouldn't be allowed in soccer is kinda broken by the fact the soccer the character's play is naturally violent. Such as, apparently charging into someone and shoving them is a bad thing to do, but it's completely fine if you electrocute and opponent so much they fall to their knees in pain.

* A lot of the aesops and stories in ''Manga/HunterXHunter'' revolve around a world and belief where there are very rarely a true black and white side to any conflict, and there are usually layers that need to be explored to better understand, which is amplified by the setting. In most arcs, this is portrayed fairly well, with very few characters outside of the main protagonists being wholly heroic, good-natured, or righteous, and even said main characters having their own severely notable flaws. But it becomes a lot harder to parse this aesop in the Chimera Ant arc specifically. Togashi put a lot of effort into portraying the Ants as complex, constantly learning and evolving, [[spoiler:and by the end of the arc every Ant that survived has given up their old ways. However, a great emphasis was put on specifically the Ant King, Meruem, developing compassion and an understanding for human life, thanks to his interactions with Komugi, with his final scene being them holding eachother as they slowly pass.]] Just as well, an emphasis on the unpredictable and, at times, vile nature of human beings, such as NGL's backwards society being a big reason why the Chimera Ants become such a global issue, and [[spoiler:having to utilize a Poor Man's Rose nuclear weapon to finally kill Meruem and the other ants.]] But, as characters, the Chimera Ant can't really be seen as anything other than evil, inhumane, and deplorable. Their entire existence and growth is based around murdering and consuming humans to make them into more ants, with many scenes dedicated to their usually gleeful and bloody rounds of hunting and murdering any and all humans they come across to use for food - even innocent children. This reaches its apex when [[spoiler:Meruem and his Royal Guards storm a Royal Palace to make it their new nest, slaughtering not only the corrupt Dictator, but also his innocent dancers... but not before saying it's ironic that they plead for mercy, when they kill and eat animals like cows.]] Compare this to any other arc, such as Yorknew - while the Phantom Troupe is implied to have killed innocent people, almost all of their actions in the arc are focused on the Auction, exclusively inhabited by corrupt millionaires that are more concerned with their own money and fun than their safety, as well as guards they've hired for the event.

** The story attempts to be a race allegory using {{beastmen}} and humans. The second half of the series almost renders it moot by dropping TheReveal that beastman are genetically predisposed to violence: when sufficiently stressed out, Beastmen can and will uncontrollably transform into terrifyingly powerful monsters that will blindly maim and destroy anything in their path. Meaning that humans are perfectly ''justified'' in not trusting their anthropomorphic brethren and wanting to either eradicate then or turn them Human whether they want or not. Which is the exact opposite idea you want to plant in a series that had just spent several episodes going "racism is bad" and just had the main character admit to and apologize for their irrational bigotry the episode before. Even though the show ends with the characters curing this affliction, thus making it a non-factor for the future of this world, it's hard to forget the fact that they accidentally undermined their anti-racism message an hour prior.

* The story attempts to be a race allegory using {{beastmen}} and humans. The second half of the series almost renders it moot by dropping TheReveal that beastman are genetically predisposed to violence: when sufficiently stressed out, Beastmen can and will uncontrollably transform into terrifyingly powerful monsters that will blindly maim and destroy anything in their path. Meaning that humans are perfectly ''justified'' in not trusting their anthropomorphic brethren and wanting to either eradicate then or turn them Human whether they want or not. Which is the exact opposite idea you want to plant in a series that had just spent several episodes going "racism is bad" and just had the main character admit to and apologize for their irrational bigotry the episode before. Even though the show ends with the characters curing this affliction, thus making it a non-factor for the future of this world, it's hard to forget the fact that they accidentally undermined their anti-racism message an hour prior.

** One duel had Syrus and Hassleberry forced into somewhat of a tag duel with Thunder and Frost, two members {{Big Bad}}'s sister's QuirkyMinibossSquad. After a few snarky comments, they realize that they need to put aside their differences and work together after learning that they're going to become hostages to lure Jaden into a trap. However, just as they are about to overcome the TeethClenchedTeamwork of their adversaries, Thunder activates a trap at the last minute to pull out a victory while throwing his partner under the bus, rendering the protagonists' team efforts meaningless.

* In one episode of ''Manga/SuperPig'' Karin once got a demo of the MagicalGirl form she wished for to try for one day, however she failed solving a dangerous situation making her deliberately become Buurin again to do that. While this was probably meant as a ''"maybe what you already have is better than you think"'' but is broken since her demo did not possess any [[StockSuperpowers super powers]] aside flight making it useless as a super form.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

** The Edolas arc ends with [[TheMagicGoesAway all magic leaving the dimension]] and returning to Earthland, and the protagonists have to convince the population that they can do without it. The Tartaros arc focuses on the titular guild of curse-wielding demons trying to activate a superweapon that will shut off the use of magic all across the continent of Ishgar, which is treated as nearly apocalyptic. Keep in mind that while Earthland has mages with inherent magic power that Edolas doesn't, Edolas was much more dependent on magic for everyday activities, so the story is essentially telling Edolas to cope with losing the equivalent of electricity while Ishgar's mages (10% of the population, by the way) losing their superpowers is a horrible outcome.

* In ''Manga/LoveHina'', the idea is that ''everything'' is possible if you try your hardest, even getting into Japan's top university and charming a really hot girl, even though you're a total loser. However, while Keitaro does start off as a really pathetic individual, it does not take long before he turns out to not only be [[BeautifulAllAlong handsome]] but also a gifted archeologist and martial artist. You'd ''expect'' someone who is not really cool or talented to captivate through {{determinat|or}}ion and charm. While Keitaro is very determined, his defeatist, whiny and relatively immature personality, as well as his tremendous clumsiness deeply annoy the girls... It's only when he drops his usual act that the women show ''any attraction'' for him, often pointing out that he is very handsome when he is not being annoying. Ultimately, instead of ''Manga/LoveHina'' being about an underdog accomplishing goals far beyond his reach through {{determinat|or}}ion and ThePowerOfLove, it's actually about someone who was CrazyAwesome from the start but never had the proper motivation to unlock his potential until he met the girl.

** By the end of the Indigo League, Ash learns the HardTruthAesop that his humiliating loss was his own fault -- as he'd gotten half his badges through pity, been carried by BeginnersLuck through most of his League matches, and failed to train his team, especially Charizard who remained disobedient, properly and thus was bound to lose to a more prepared Trainer eventually. But Ash lost because his team sans Charizard was exhausted escaping Team Rocket thus, while his luck karmicly running out, would have happened even if he'd properly trained his team or earned his prior wins. Also, Charizard remained disobedient even when Ash did attempt to train or command it Charizard's obedience ultimately had nothing to do with training -- not only did it remain disobedient even when Ash ''was'' trying to command it, but it only regained loyalty to him after Ash saved its life a second time. While Ash was a better Trainer by that point, nothing about his skill ever had to do with controlling Charizard, especially since Charizard had known Ash was selfless from the very beginning.

** By the end of the Indigo League, Ash learns the HardTruthAesop that his humiliating loss was his own fault -- as he'd gotten half his badges through pity, been carried by BeginnersLuck through most of his League matches, and failed to train his team properly (especially Charizard), he was bound to lose to a more prepared Trainer eventually. While this is a respectable moral in theory, it's broken in practice because in context, Ash wouldn't have even needed Charizard without Team Rocket exhausting his team for the entire episode. Ash's team had to be unfairly {{nerf}}ed to make Charizard seem more necessary than it really was, which prevents the loss from really feeling deserved, as Ash likely would've won without such a handicap.
*** Charizard's disobedience is yet another Broken Aesop in itself -- it's repeatedly established that Ash was to blame for never training it, and it would respect him again when he earned it. This is contradicted by the fact that Charizard's obedience ultimately had nothing to do with training -- not only did it remain disobedient even when Ash ''was'' trying to command it, but it only regained loyalty to him after Ash saved its life a second time. While Ash was a better Trainer by that point, nothing about his skill ever had to do with controlling Charizard, especially since Charizard had known Ash was selfless from the very beginning.
** An issue with Paul in the early parts of the Sinnoh season is that every time Ash rises up to challenge him on some aspect of how he trains and treats his Pokémon, everyone tells Ash to try and look past their differences, since everyone does things differently and he should respect that. The problem is [[DoubleStandard they're defending Paul despite him also disrespecting those with different opinions than himself]] and he's [[ArrogantKungFuGuy far worse about it]]. The later seasons seem to address this issue with the help of some CharacterDevelopment, downplaying Paul's crueler habits and portraying his training style as more of a form of ToughLove that his current roster doesn't mind.

** ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans tries'' to say that the children being forced to take up arms not just to survive but to try and make a living is a terrible thing, but that message runs a bit flat when most of the adult characters are {{Card Carrying Villain}}s and when Mikazuki practically boasts "These children are the ones that are going to kill you" to an enemy pilot, it's framed as a triumph as opposed to a necessary evil.

** One episode has Juden Duel a guy who's essentially used CharlesAtlasSuperpower to master TheMagicPokerEquation, and who relies entirely on his ability to draw any card he wants. The moral, along with the usual "have fun and don't take it too seriously", is "you can't just use luck to carry you; you have to use strategy as well." This is coming from a character, like all other Yu-gi-oh protagonists, whose ability to always get the right card is an explicit part of his character, to the point of one opponent literally building their strategy around countering it (and failing).

* ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', several times, gives the moral that "no card is worthless, just as no person is worthless." However, this is undercut by the fact that protagonist Yusei Fudo uses one of the most powerful decks in the series, full of Synchros ranging from rare to one-of-a-kind. What's more, every time he uses "worthless" cards to make this point, he quickly reverts to his usual Deck. And in any case, ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'' is kind of a terrible game to make this moral with, being laden with cards that are either [[JokeCharacter completely useless]] or [[PowerCreep strictly outclassed;]] every time Yusei tried to prove the moral, the card he used was a LethalJokeCharacter at worst. One wonders what he'd do with something like [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Morinphen Morinphen...]]

* ''Anime/BNABrandNewAnimal'' attempts to be a race allegory using {{beastmen}} and humans. The second half of the series almost renders it moot by dropping TheReveal that beastman are genetically predisposed to violence: when sufficiently stressed out, Beastmen can and will uncontrollably transform into terrifyingly powerful monsters that will blindly maim and destroy anything in their path. Meaning that humans are perfectly ''justified'' in not trusting their anthropomorphic brethren and wanting to either eradicate then or turn them Human whether they want or not. Which is the exact opposite idea you want to plant in a series that had just spent several episodes going "racism is bad" and just had the main character admit to and apologize for their irrational bigotry the episode before. Even though the show ends with the characters curing this affliction, thus making it a non-factor for the future of this world, it's hard to forget the fact that they accidentally undermined their anti-racism message an hour prior.

* ''LightNovel/TheIrregularAtMagicHighSchool'' spares no effort to criticize classism and make the point that a person's status should be decided by their own merits and not their birth, which is supposed to be exemplified by the protagonist saving the day despite being looked down upon by his fellow students and most of society as a whole. The problem is that said protagonist is [[PersonOfMassDestruction a comically-overpowered genetically-engineered super-mage]] from a rich family, and being literally created to have ridiculous powers that hardly anyone on else on earth can match is the definition of being born into privilege.

** In general, the moral of the entire WRGP arc is intended to be of teamwork and ThePowerOfFriendship. This isn't borne out, because Team 5D's works together by ''far'' the least of any of the onscreen teams. Every other team runs synergetic if not outright identical decks and frequently dedicate themselves to a single strategy to the point of members deliberately sacrificing themselves, while the members of Team 5D's run personalized and completely dissimilar decks and pursue totally unrelated strategies, at most leaving a card or two for their teammate. Further undermining this is the presence of [[InvincibleHero Yusei,]] who is the ultimate victor of almost every battle in the tournament, the most skilled and successful member of his team by a significant margin, and the only member who never loses. It's hard to take the idea of teamwork seriously when you get the feeling that Jack, Crow, and Aki could have spent their duels blowing spit bubbles and Yusei would have still carried the whole thing. Not to mention on a meta level, this arc saw most of the prior cast be DemotedToExtra - particularly Ruka and Rua, who have almost no role at all in the entire arc, and Aki, whose only role was to fail at filling in for Crow. Essentially, it asks us to care about the cast's teamwork while writing only the PowerTrio as significant and only the protagonist as competent.