History DarknessInducedAudienceApathy / AnimeAndManga

* ''Anime/AkudamaDrive'': The anime has received a mixed reception. It goes farther than ''Anime/AkameGaKill'' when it comes to the body count. Most viewers are here for the cool artstyle and shipping between Swindler and Courier (and the villainous counterpart Doctor and Cutthroat). It's hard to care about the whole premise: a {{cyberpunk}} world with GreyAndGrayMorality where both [[TheBadGuysAreCops Executioners]] and [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Akudama criminals]] are equally horrible.

* ''Anime/AkudamaDrive'': The anime has received a mixed reception. It goes farther than ''Anime/AkameGaKill'' when it comes to the body count. Most viewers are here for the cool artstyle and shipping between Swindler and Courier (and the villainous counterpart Doctor and Cutthroat). It's hard to care about the whole premise: a {{cyberpunk}} world with GreyAndGrayMorality where both [[TheBadGuysAreCops Executioners]] and [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Akudama criminals]] are equally horrible. [[spoiler:The ending is esoterically bittersweet and is taken to logical extreme: Brother and Sister get rescued from being sent into the fake reality [[LotusEaterMachine Kanto]] and both of them are able to escape into a peaceful sanctuary. However, Kansai city gets mostly destroyed and becomes lawless after the corrupt police force and Executioners get thwarted by citizens and Akudama. [[KillEmAll All Akudama criminals are dead, including much more sympathetic ones like Swindler and Courier]]. Millions of people's minds are still trapped in Kanto and they'll slowly die with no way to prevent it. To top it all off, it's not clear if the sanctuary is actually safe or not.]]

* ''Anime/AkudamaDrive'': The anime has received a mixed reception. It goes farther than ''Anime/AkameGaKill'' when it comes to the body count. Most viewers are here for the cool artstyle and shipping between Swindler and Courier (and the villainous counterpart Doctor and Cutthroat). It's hard to care about the whole premise: a {{cyberpunk}} world with GreyAndGrayMorality where both [[TheBadGuysAreCops Executioners]] and [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Akudama criminals]] are equally horrible. [[spoiler:the ending is esoterically bittersweet and is taken to logical extreme: Brother and Sister get rescued from being sent into the fake reality [[LotusEaterMachine Kanto]] and both of them are able to escape into a peaceful sanctuary. However, Kansai city gets mostly destroyed and becomes lawless after the corrupt police force and Executioners get thwarted by citizens and Akudama. [[KillEmAll All Akudama criminals are dead, including much more sympathetic ones like Swindler and Courier]]. Millions of people's minds are still trapped in Kanto and they'll slowly die with no way to prevent it. To top it all off, it's not clear if the sanctuary is actually safe or not.]]

* ''Anime/AkudamaDrive'': The anime has received a mixed reception. It goes farther than ''Anime/AkameGaKill'' when it comes to the body count. Most viewers are here for the cool artstyle and shipping between Swindler and Courier (and the villainous counterpart Doctor and Cutthroat). It's hard to care about the whole premise: a {{cyberpunk}} world with GreyAndGrayMorality where both [[TheBadGuysAreCops Executioners]] and [[RagtagBunchOfMisfits Akudama criminals]] are equally horrible. [[spoiler:the ending is esoterically bittersweet and is taken to logical extreme: Brother and Sister get rescued from being sent into the fake reality [[LotusEaterMachine Kanto]]. However, Kansai city gets mostly destroyed and becomes lawless after the corrupt police force and Executioners get thwarted by citizens and Akudama. [[KillEmAll All Akudama criminals are dead, including much more sympathetic ones like Swindler and Courier]]. Millions of people's minds are still trapped in Kanto and they'll slowly die with no way to prevent it. To top it all off, it's not clear if the sanctuary is actually safe or not.]]

* ''LightNovel/MagicalGirlRaisingProject'': The reaction to the series was mainly this, with many mixed to negative reactions over yet another MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction show being aired at a period in which more typical takes on the genre have become very seldom (at the time, only ''Anime/MahoGirlsPreCure'', ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'' and ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaViVid'' were mainstream, and all of them were new installments of old-established franchises instead of fully new works). Even Crunchyroll staffers showed themselves frustrated about it on the live portion of the Fall 2016 Rollout special where they first announced they were simulcasting the anime adaptation of ''Magical Girl Raising Project''.
** EightDeadlyWords is a very common complaint, even by fans of the show themselves, is that it is hard to feel any impact at [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter the death of characters who barely get any development before being mowed down]]. Part of the fault goes to the anime attempting to adapt all the side stories and backgrounds of the cast from the first arc, which leaves no screen time to dedicate individually to every one of them given the short length of the series. Being a twelve episode anime trying to flesh out sixteen characters meant that it could not even focus on a single character per episode.
** It's hard to care about some {{war arc}}s as the factions are {{nominal|hero}} at best and corrupted or outright evil at worst, and the fact that [[TheBadGuyWins bad guys always win]] doesn't help, at least in early war arcs.
** This problem actually is endemic to the light novel itself, as many fans agree that the characters in the first arc, which the anime adapts, were weaker in terms of characterization. Later arcs were much better received both in character depth and world building.
* ''Manga/MagicalGirlSite'' isn't so popular because it is a horribly grim-dark MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction manga, that tells about a suicidal protagonist who is also a victim of her brother's abuse. Thankfully she gets a chance to join the Magical Girl Site contract, where all the girls can become magical girls. [[spoiler:Except... the contract turns out to be a HopeSpot where she has to [[CastFromLifespan sacrifice a certain amount of her lifespan every time she uses her magical attack]] and fight nothing but between the girls who have also joined Magical Girl Site in a form of DeadlyGame]]. Also, the fact that [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids this manga runs in a Shonen magazine]] doesn't help at all. Seeing all these premises, the audience might expect our poor protagonist [[spoiler:to die in a few moments during the deadly game (or ''even after'' she wins and has become the true magical girl)]].

* ''Manga/{{Shiki}}'' enters this territory when the humans become aware of the existence of the [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Shiki]] who are responsible for the declining population of the village and the deaths of several of their loved ones. Due to the nature of the series being GreyAndGrayMorality, both sides crossed many lines to fight for their survival. If you have a favorite character on either side, chances are that they would either be dead or broken. [[spoiler:The ending rings hollow where the humans won against the Shiki but lost their loved ones and their homes are burned down and the BigBad got away scot-free though she felt some amount of remorse for her actions]].

** This SliceOfLife ZombieApocalypse series is written by a person who works with Creator/{{Nitroplus}}, the VisualNovel company which is infamous for their [[HGame H-novels]] with mostly dark and depressing stories. It also doesn't help to note that the girls are [[BreakTheCutie already mentally broken]] from the zombie apocalypse, one of the girls being very oblivious to the situation[[spoiler:, and another girl slowly turning into a zombie despite taking a MagicAntidote]]. On top of all that, Chapter 51 reveals that [[spoiler: the Zombie Virus might be an airborne virus that could infect anybody at any time, so if this is true it could result in any of the characters randomly getting infected and dying at any point no matter how much progress they've made up to that point]].

** This SliceOfLife ZombieApocalypse series is written by a person who works with Creator/{{Nitroplus}}, the VisualNovel company which is infamous for their mostly dark and depressing stories. It also doesn't help to note that the girls are [[BreakTheCutie already mentally broken]] from the zombie apocalypse, one of the girls being very oblivious to the situation[[spoiler:, and another girl slowly turning into a zombie despite taking a MagicAntidote]]. On top of all that, Chapter 51 reveals that [[spoiler: the Zombie Virus might be an airborne virus that could infect anybody at any time, so if this is true it could result in any of the characters randomly getting infected and dying at any point no matter how much progress they've made up to that point]].

** A bit justified, this SliceOfLife ZombieApocalypse series is written by a person who works with Creator/{{Nitroplus}}. It also doesn't help to note that the girls are [[BreakTheCutie already mentally broken]] from the zombie apocalypse, one of the girls being very oblivious to the situation[[spoiler:, and another girl slowly turning into a zombie despite taking a MagicAntidote]]. On top of all that, Chapter 51 reveals that [[spoiler: the Zombie Virus might be an airborne virus that could infect anybody at any time, so if this is true it could result in any of the characters randomly getting infected and dying at any point no matter how much progress they've made up to that point]].

* ''Manga/FutureDiary'': Almost everyone (except one participant, who is TheHero) in the DeadlyGame is almost irredeemable and insane. TheHero's female deuteragonist is ''only slightly less'' irredeemable than the others. EightDeadlyWords ensues when TheHero becomes [[GoMadFromTheRevelation instantly insane]] after [[spoiler:his parents are killed by one of the participants]], making him as unsympathetic as the other participants. There are no completely sympathetic characters, even those who are sane and are minor role characters. However, the story manages to EarnYourHappyEnding with [[spoiler:TheHero winning the DeadlyGame and ascending into godhood as a reward. He replaces Deus, [[GodIsDead because the latter is dying]], and revives everyone, including the DeadlyGame participants. It's quite a chore to read from the beginning till the end.

* ''Manga/FutureDiary'': Almost everyone open (except one participant, who is TheHero) in the Deadly Game is almost irredeemable and insane. TheHero's female deuteragonist is ''only slightly less'' irredeemable than the others. EightDeadlyWords ensues when TheHero becomes [[GoMadFromTheRevelation instantly insane]] after [[spoiler:his parents are killed by one of the participants]], making him as unsympathetic as the other participants. There are no completely sympathetic characters, even those who are sane and are minor role characters. However, the story manages to EarnYourHappyEnding with [[spoiler:TheHero winning the DeadlyGame and ascending into godhood as a reward. He replaces Deus, [[GodIsDead because the latter is dying]], and revives everyone, including the DeadlyGame participants. It's quite a chore to read from the beginning till the end.

* ''LightNovel/RedoOfHealer'': The main character is a SerialRapist and a very creative torturer with a harem of slaves (that he either bought or brainwashed)... but [[ALighterShadeOfBlack he's still a saint compared to his enemies]]. So yeah, it's very easy to not care about what happens to anyone, unless you're into rape/sex scenes.

** It's hard to care about some {{war arc}}s as the factions are {{nominal|hero}} at best and corrupted or outright evil at worst, and the fact that [[BadGuyWins bad guys always win]] doesn't help, at least in early war arcs.

* In ''Anime/AldnoahZero'', Inaho and Slaine are highly flawed characters, and their many faults or self-inflicted mistakes can make it hard for the audience to sympathize with them. The fact that [[spoiler: Slaine becomes the BigBad by the beginning of season 2]] doesn't help, [[spoiler: even with its supposedly overall positive ending]].

** EightDeadlyWords is a very common complaint, even by fans of the show themselves, is that it is hard to feel any impact at [[heyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter the death of characters who barely get any development before being mowed down]]. Part of the fault goes to the anime attempting to adapt all the side stories and backgrounds of the cast from the first arc, which leaves no screen time to dedicate individually to every one of them given the short length of the series. Being a twelve episode anime trying to flesh out sixteen characters meant that it could not even focus on a single character per episode.

** EightDeadlyWords is a very common complaint, even by fans of the show themselves, is that it is hard to feel any impact at the death of characters who barely get any development before being mowed down. Part of the fault goes to the anime attempting to adapt all the side stories and backgrounds of the cast from the first arc, which leaves no screen time to dedicate individually to every one of them given the short length of the series. Being a twelve episode anime trying to flesh out sixteen characters meant that it could not even focus on a single character per episode.

* In ''Anime/CodeGeass'', for certain viewers the WhamEpisode near the end of season 1 qualifies. The ending of the second season is also a particular point of contention among fans, with both ardent defenders and harsh critics. It's a conclusion that includes giving a seemingly happy result for [[KarmaHoudini a few people who got off lightly if not scot free for what they did]], while other more sympathetic characters had to settle for a bittersweet resolution at best. The matter of [[spoiler: Lelouch's death is especially controversial, with the man himself seeing his own orchestrated passing as a final victory and the fans being split on whether this is a satisfactory end or a source of apathy.]]
** The spin-off series ''[[Anime/CodeGeassAkitoTheExiled Akito the Exiled]]'' also initially divided reactions among the audience thanks to this trope, albeit in a fairly different way. The cast includes some frothing racists, criminals and scoundrels as well as apparently psychopathic {{Blood Knight}}s, with a small number of halfway decent people thrown in. On top of that, a ForegoneConclusion seemed to be likely since it's an {{Interquel}} set between ''Code Geass'''s two seasons and focuses on a particular war...whose outcome was revealed at the start of the second season, which tends to limit some of the audience's interest in it. That said, the series gets a lot more idealistic later on (which in itself [[{{Irony}} caused the audience to disagree about]] whether the show's tone went too far the ''other'' way).
* ''Anime/CrossAnge'' is so dark that it really becomes hard to root for anybody in this series and some fans really wished this series would go for a KillEmAll ending because frankly speaking, the setting is set in such a crappy world, there's barely any "good" heroes with most of them being an AntiHero, and a BigBad who's more of NecessarilyEvil to cater for TheNeedsOfTheMany. The setting itself involves a monarchy that is populated primarily by magic users, and the racism and oppression of the non-magical "Normas" is disgustingly extreme and over the top. The main characters constantly lie, cheat and betray each other, with main character Ange causing the deaths of five people due to her pride and arrogance in the first few episodes alone. [[spoiler:A character who had been built up as becoming a major ally to Ange is [[ShockingSwerve suddenly]] revealed to actually be a psychotic sadist who blames Ange for everything that's gone wrong in her life]]. Finally, the series is so chock full of disturbingly graphic and detailed violence, both physical and sexual, that eventually some people just stopped caring.

** By the end of the series, [[spoiler:only ''two'' of the thirteen newly introduced characters survive, with it having been mentioned that one of them was intended to die. Not only that, at least one character was killed before the series even started to the point of never having a character OR a voice actress, with two other characters getting killed by the time of Episode 3 without having any meaningful character or showing up in Side: Despair.]] Worse yet, [[spoiler:all of the characters from the original game survive, making the cast of Future essentially meat shields to satisfy a death quota without actually endangering the original cast's lives.]]

* ''Manga/DeathNote'' can present this problem for some viewers due to [[CrapsackWorld the dark and cynical atmosphere]], BlackAndGrayMorality, and the fact that AnyoneCanDie. The cast does not offer many characters one can truly root for; what few sympathetic ones there are either killed off or ground into the dirt, if indeed they get attention at all.
** In terms of main characters...on the one hand you've got VillainProtagonist Light, a brilliant if vaguely sociopathic young man with [[AGodAmI a God complex]] who initially begins using the titular ArtifactOfDoom to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans "create a better world free of evil"]] but quickly starts JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and becomes more [[ItsAllAboutMe concerned with nothing else but being God and not getting caught]]. On the other, we have HeroAntagonist--or rather, AntiHero-Antagonist L, a ruthless GreatDetective who [[BloodKnight mainly concerns himself with catching Light because he likes the challenge]], uses any means necessary to do so including invasion of privacy and torture, and at one point walks out on the case because it looked like he was wrong about Light being the prime suspect. WordOfGod even says that both characters are rather evil, though Light is very much the worse of the two.

* ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' replays the early events with a far more hopeful tone [[spoiler:but plunges back into despair with the third film, ''You Can (Not) Redo''.]]

* ''LightNovel/FateZero'' can fall into this, with many of the characters having questionable goals and behavior and with an overall dark and cynical mood that can make it difficult to care about the story. Not to mention that it's all ForegoneConclusion.
** ''Anime/FateExtraLastEncore'' suffers similar problems, and it doesn't even have the excuse of it being a prequel, with the protagonist being fueled primarily by hatred and the Holy Grail War itself having been corrupted.

* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' can cause this. The setting is so very {{crapsack|World}} and the AntiHero protagonist tending to be both [[SociopathicHero morally questionable]] and hopelessly overpowered by the main villains, not to mention the arguably gratuitous rape and violence, means people can simply get ''bored'' of the darkness. It does [[WorldHalfFull get better]] later in the manga... [[ZigZaggingTrope and at times]], [[FromBadToWorse worse]].

* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' is, 90% of the time, either our heroes failing and/or having suffered many casualties in an attempt to reverse [[CrapsackWorld a rather well-cemented and long-standing dystopia]]. Granted, the main characters and a few of the cast members ([[AnyoneCanDie at least the ones left alive]]) have gradual development, but it makes it hard to care about [[RedShirts anyone else]] due to a lack of characterization otherwise.
** Against all odds, the story became [[UpToEleven even]] ''[[UpToEleven more]]'' [[UpToEleven depressing following]] [[spoiler:the revelation that the main cast has been on a small island the whole time and the rest of the world wants everyone on the island dead for the crimes allegedly committed by their ancestors using the power of the Titans. This ultimately eroded every victory the main cast ever achieved up to that point]].
** The series somehow takes it ''even further'' with the sudden reveal that [[spoiler: Eren himself was not only EvilAllAlong, but was a GreaterScopeVillain using MentalTimeTravel to set up some of the worst things to happen in the series with the ultimate plan of [[FinalSolution exterminating all life from outside the island]]. To take it even further, his motive is specifically ''because'' the outside world is so awful and full of racism toward the people of the island]].

* ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' replays the early events with a far more hopeful tone [[spoiler:but plunges back into despair with the third film, ''The End of Evangelion''.]]

* ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' replays the early events with a far more hopeful tone [[spoiler:but plunges back into despair with the third film, ''The End of Evangelion'']]

* ''Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion'' replays the early events with a far more hopeful tone [[spoiler:but plunges back into despair with [[Animethe third film.]]