History DysfunctionJunction / AnimeAndManga

* The Sakura Dormitory in ''LightNovel/SakurasouNoPetNaKanojo'': An [[UsefulNotes/HighFunctioningAutism autistic]] IdiotSavant (Mashiro), an [[DesperatelyLookingForAPurposeInLife insecure guy]] [[KindHeartedCatLover who shelters seven cats]] (Sorata), a {{Sensei-chan}} (Chihiro), a [[GenkiGirl hyperactive]] OtakuSurrogate (Misaki), an [[DudeLooksLikeALady effeminate]] {{Hikikomori}} (Ryounosuke), a [[TheCasanova Casanova]] [[HeroicSelfDeprecation with an inferiority complex]] (Jin), and a {{workaholic}} aspiring voice actress who pushes herself too far (Nanami), living together in a two-storey wooden house.

* The ''FullmetalAlchemist'' universe seems to have psychological trauma as one of the qualifying factors for a commission in the Amestrian military. Notable cases are the Elric brothers, who were [[ParentalAbandonment abandoned by their father]], and sparked the plot by trying to use forbidden alchemy to resurrect their dead mother. Other characters partying in TraumaCongaLine include Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, Winry Rockbell, Van Hoenheim, Izumi Curtis, Tim Marcoh, and Scar. Plus, Alex Armstrong and King Bradley make the list unexpectedly.
** And then the plot happens. Almost every single major character (and definitely every single major character who already had past issues) gets badly traumatized at least once by the end of the series. Those that survive will surely have issues for years to come. [[spoiler: EarnYourHappyEnding indeed]].
** TruthInTelevision for an army that just finished committing genocide. Under the circumstances anyone without severe PTSD is almost certainly a sociopath.

* The Sakura Dormitory in ''LightNovel/SakurasouNoPetNaKanojo'': an autistic IdiotSavant (Mashiro), an insecure guy (Sorata), a teacher who is just OneOfTheKids (Chihiro), an hyperactive OtakuSurrogate (Misaki), a {{Hikikomori}} (Ryuunosuke) and a guy with an inferiority complex (Jin) living together with seven cats.

* The Sakura Dormitory in ''LightNovel/SakurasouNoPetNaKanojo'': An autistic IdiotSavant, an insecure guy who shelters seven cats, an AdultChild, an hyperactive OtakuSurrogate, a {{Hikikomori}}, a guy with an inferiority complex and a {{workaholic}} who pushes herself too far living together.

* ''OuranHighSchoolHostClub'' might look like a flamboyant, over-the-top explosion of pure fluff, but when you get down to it, the main characters are all very heavily influenced by family problems. Haruhi struggles with confidence and identity issues because of her dead mother and cross-dressing father. Tamaki is hiding a vast amount of hurt and confusion because his grandmother hates him and his high-powered businessman father inhabits a world that runs on a totally different code of ethics than he grew up with. Kyoya is driven by the need to surpass the achievements of his two older brothers in order to earn the respect of his father. Kaoru and Hikaru are so dependent on each other as twins that they are almost unable to relate to other people alone. Honey is rejected by his family because he prioritizes cake and cute things over his dedication to the family martial arts, and Mori has essentially no identity beyond helping and supporting Honey. The amount of drama all this causes is frankly astounding, and essentially runs the whole plot of a sixteen-volume manga series.

* The main three characters of ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai'', especially Ryou and Shuu.

* The Sakura Dormitory in ''LightNovel/SakurasouNoPetNaKanojo'': an autistic IdiotSavant (Mashiro), an insecure guy (Sorata), a teacher who is just OneOfTheKids (Chihiro), an hyperactive OtakuSurrogate (Misaki), a {{Hikikomori}} (Ryuunosuke) and a guy with an inferiority complex (Jin) living together with seven cats.

* The TV Series of ''BlackRockShooter''. The only sane person out of the entire cast is Yuu. [[spoiler: Nope. Actually, Yuu vanished into Otherworld years ago. The person we've been seeing named Yuu is actually her Otherself Strength. She's not crazy, however, she IS the crazy.]]

* The Sakura Dormitory in ''LightNovel/SakurasouNoPetNaKanojo'': an autistic IdiotSavant (Mashiro), an insecure guy (Sorata), a teacher who is just OneOfTheKids (Chihiro), an hyperactive OtakuSurrogate (Misaki), a {{Hikikomori}} (Ryuunosuke) and a guy with an inferiority complex (Jin) living together with seven cats.

* The Sakura Apartments in ''LightNovel/SakurasouNoPetNaKanojo'': an autistic IdiotSavant, an insecure guy, a teacher who is just OneOfTheKids, an hyperactive OtakuSurrogate, a {{Hikikomori}} and a guy with an inferiority complex living together with seven cats.

* The Sakura Apartments in ''LightNovel/SakurasouNoPetNaKanojo'': an autistic IdiotSavant, an insecure guy, an AdultChild, an hyperactive OtakuSurrogate, a {{Hikikomori}} and a guy with an inferiority complex living together with seven cats.

* The Sakura Apartments in ''LightNovel/SakurasouNoPetNaKanojo'', being the place where people kicked out of a BoardingSchool's dorms live, is naturally this. {{Landlady}} Chihiro is a SenseiChan. Jin is a [[TheCasanova Casanova]]. Misaki is a {{otaku}} and a ShamelessFanserviceGirl. Ryuunosuke is a GadgeteerGenius[=/=]{{Hikikomori}}. Mashiro is an IdiotSavant. The OnlySaneMan Sorata was sent here since he's [[KindHeartedCatLover not willing to part with a stray cat he found]].

* The Sakura Apartments in ''LightNovel/SakurasouNoPetNaKanojo'', being the place where people kicked out of a BoardingSchool's dorms live, is naturally this. {{Landlady}} Chihiro is a SenseiChan. Jin is a [[TheCasanova Casanova]]. Misaki is a {{otaku}} and a ShamelessFanserviceGirl. Ryuunosuke is a GadgeteerGenius[=/=]{{Hikikomori}}. Mashiro is an IdiotSavant. The OnlySaneGuy Sorata was sent here since he's [[KindHeartedCatLover not willing to part with a stray cat he found]].

* ''DeadmanWonderland'' features much of the characters with dark pasts or AxCrazy disturbed persona's. Most everybody's present aren't nice either.

* The characters of ''Manga/{{Life}}'' easily count. The protagonist is a cutter who's bullied and [[ButtMonkey can never seem to be happy for long]], her ex-friend's boyfriend is a BitchInSheepsClothing who has AbusiveParents [[spoiler:and who's girlfriend set him up to get beat up]], her only friend is a delinquent of sorts who misses school in order to have a job, there's a boy in the series who was severely bullied in middle school..

* ''DeadmanWonderland'' features much of the characters with dark pasts or AxCrazy disturbed persona's. Most everybody's present aren't nice either.
* ''Loveless''. Enough said.

* ''DeadmanWonderland'' features much of the characters with dark pasts or AxCrazy disturbed persona's. Most everybody's present aren't nice either.

* ''Anime/BokuWaTomodachiGaSukunai'', besides being a slice-of-life school comedy, also details the lives of seven socially-inept members of the Neighbors Club, particularly its principal trio (which also serves as a LoveTriangle of the sorts) -- Kodaka is an otherwise [[OnlySaneMan well-adjusted boy]] whose social life suffers due to being frequently mistaken for a {{delinquent}}; Yozora is an [[{{Jerkass}} abrasive loner]] with almost NoSocialSkills; Sena is a notorious RichBitch, her [[MsFanservice shapely figure]] notwithstanding; Yukimura is a girl who pretends to be a boy with [[GullibleLemmings a severe lack of self-confidence]]; Rika is a TeenGenius with an [[LovableSexManiac incredibly perverted streak]]; Kodaka's little sister Kobato is under a [[MrImagination constant self-delusion]] of being a vampiric ElegantGothicLolita; and Maria is their [[{{Sensei-chan}} ten-year-old advisor]] with severe [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} reality-testing issues]]. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

** It should be noted, however, that the manga version (written by character designer Sadamoto) features a much less screwed up cast. However, ''Evangelion'' is technically AnimeFirst; the manga was only made as an advertisement initially. This being ''Evangelion'', of course, there's still plenty of dysfunction to go around.

* In ''SakuraGari'' between Souma's childhood, [[spoiler: being raped and tortured DAILY, silently and lonely while everyone pretends it doesn't happen]], Matasaka's childhood [[spoiler: and rape and torture at the hands of Katsuragi]], the ''entire'' situation with [[spoiler: Youya, and Souma's stepmother]], [[CompleteMonster Katsuragi]] and [[{{Yandere}} Sakurako]] and you have UpToEleven extremes that just keep on climbing.

** Homura is pretty much the ''queen'' of dysfunction. She [[spoiler: watched her only friends die ''multiple times'' while desperately trying and failing to save them through her GroundhogDayLoop powers, which eventually became so traumatizing that she abandoned all emotions and went from being a sweet little Moe with glasses and braids to a cold, hard Badass who fights with an armory of guns and bombs she stole from the ''Yakuza''. In the current timeline, she has to watch her best friend Madoka - the girl she's relived a single hellish month over and over to save - shy away from her in fear and treat her like she's an intimidating stranger.]]

** In fact, Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion's cast is sufficiently messed up that the viewer practically 'needs' similar issues of their own to identify with them. Those who don't may well find it easier to identify with a cast of Mary Sues.
** It should be noted, however, that the manga version (written by character designer Sadamoto) features a much less screwed up cast. However, Evangelion is technically Main/AnimeFirst; the manga was only made as an advertisement initially. This being Evangelion, of course, there's still plenty of dysfunction to go around.

* ''KeyTheMetalIdol'', and everything that takes after it: ''SerialExperimentsLain'', ''BoogiepopPhantom'', ''GhostHound'', ''{{Texhnolyze}}'', ''ErgoProxy'', and ''HaibaneRenmei'' to name a few.

* ''FruitsBasket''. In most cases if the parents of a Sohma member are mentioned, at least one rejected their child as a monster. All of the characters have at least one other tragic aspect: Yuki was abused as a child, Kyo was looked down upon as a monster even by the ''other'' Zodiac members and blamed by his father for his mother's suicide, Hatori lost part of his sight and erased the memories of the woman he loved, Shigure was involved in a twisted love triangle, etc, etc... This includes Tohru and her friends.

* ''[[RanmaOneHalf Ranma 1/2]]''. It's a lighthearted slapstick-action romantic comedy, so very few of the characters are genuinely malicious, but AlternativeCharacterInterpretation tends to [[ComedicSociopathy take it in this direction]]. Even Ukyo Kuonji, sometimes considered the most normal in a cast of loonies, has no mother and abandoned her father to be a transvestite for most of her life because some other little girls taunted that she would never find a husband after [[ArrangedMarriage her so-called fiance]] ran off with her dowry. The fandom, of course, makes it CerebusSyndrome or WhatIsEvil.

* Just about every character in ''Manga/YuGiOh'' has either a tragic, despressing backstory or present.
* Subverted and played straight in Manga/OnePiece. Subverted in that every member of the Straw Hat Pirates has a depressing backstory, but [[AngstWhatAngst very rarely]] does it ever seem to get them down. Other characters, on the other hand, play it straight. Montblanc Cricket was bullied and derided for most of his childhood because of something his ''ancestor'' did (ironically, his ancestor was telling the truth and no one believed him). Boa Hancock and her sisters were sold as slaves to [[AristocratsAreEvil the Celestial Dragons]] when they were young, who did such terrible acts to them that they can't even speak about it without breaking down into tears. And surprisingly, [[spoiler: Arlong and his followers]] presumably went through some hard times, as [[spoiler: mermen and fishmen were always treated horribly by humans]].
* The new Original Seven of GunXSword. This is kind of funny, in that Gadved, the OnlySaneMan, boasted to Van about how powerful they are and how well they work together. With the likes of [[TheBerserker Carossa]], [[BrokenBird Fasalina]] and especially [[Theatre/OedipusRex Wo]]...

* ''DGrayMan'': Oh boy... name one character with a backstory that isn't depressing and you get a cookie.

* ''Everyone'' in ''{{Hellsing}}''. Especially [[BreakTheCutie Seras]].

* The primary members of the cast in MahouSenseiNegima tend to have the most horrible backstories. Negi's never met his parents, is too self sacrificing and had his village burned down. Asuna [[spoiler:was a weapon and was forced to cause the destruction of Ostia]]. Konoka is fairly normal, but she's been estranged from her best friend/love interest for years. Setsuna was cast out of her tribe for what is strongly implied to be albinism. Evangeline has had people trying to kill her her entire life. Chao, Rakan, Chachamaru, Anya, Kotaro, Shiori... But don't worry, not everyone is like this; [[BrickJoke Makie can't think of any worries]].

* The Allies of AxisPowersHetalia could be this. England had no friends, and was bullied and hated as a child by his own [[TheUnFavorite family]], and ends up being [[TheAmericanRevolution left by the one person who ever showed him any love]]. France's [[JoanofArc implied love]] was murdured by his own charge turned [[HundredYearsWar enemy]]. China's former little brother ''stabbed'' him for seemingly no reason and declared war on him. And let's not forget Russia, who was raised by General Winter and endured through several things that messed him up completely (Bloody Sunday, anyone?) The only one who appears to have gotten it easy is America. And when you take into consideration how TheAmericanRevolution must have affected him as well, even that's debatable.

* ''PeacemakerKurogane'': Everyone. And [[ItGotWorse it only gets worse]] for them later on too.

* MawaruPenguindrum: To list all of the characters' respective problems would be incredibly spoiler-riffic and take up half this page. Suffice to say that every major character must deal with ''several'' serious issues ([[{{Yandere}} and most of them]] [[RapeAsDrama don't deal with those issues]] [[MurderIsTheBestSolution very well]]). Put them all together, and the results are...[[ItGotWorse interesting]].

** In fact, NeonGenesisEvangelion's cast is sufficiently messed up that the viewer practically 'needs' similar issues of their own to identify with them. Those who don't may well find it easier to identify with a cast of Mary Sues.

* Forget Oyashiro-sama and curses [[spoiler:and government conspiracies and [[HatePlague parasites]]]]. The abuse, betrayal and manipulation that the cast of ''HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi'' has gone through in their {{backstory}} would make ''anyone'' go insane.
** Applies for its semi-sequel, ''UminekoNoNakuKoroNi'', as well, with the added bonus that [[BigScrewedUpFamily they're all to blame for each others' dysfunctions]].
* Anyone in ''ElfenLied'' who wasn't already murderous, emotionally traumatized, or unlucky in love sure as hell became one (or all) of those. The only character to come across as somewhat well-adjusted would have to be Nana, and sometimes, not even her!

* Most of the characters in ''{{Naruto}}'' that get any screen time usually have suffered through the death of a loved one or some kind of abuse, including Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, Gaara, Iruka, Kakashi, Sai, Hinata, Neji... you get the point.

* The new Original Seven of GunXSword. This is kind of funny, in that Gadved, the OnlySaneMan, boasted to Van about how powerful they are and how well they work together. With the likes of [[TheBerserker Carossa]], [[BrokenBird Fasalina]] and especially [[OedipusRex Wo]]...

* Good Lord, ''CowboyBebop''. Not just all of the main characters have issues, but practically everyone they meet in the entire series. It doesn't help that the theme is practically a deconstruction of GrowingUpSucks, as is fully explored in some literary papers. (Yes, you heard me; literary papers have been written about ''Cowboy Bebop''.)
* ''BlackLagoon''. Seriously, you know you're dealing with one fucked up group of people when the ''least'' emotionally unstable characters are a [[TheVietnamWar Vietnam Veteran]] [[spoiler:(or so we think)]] turned {{pirate}}-mercenary (Dutch), a jaded former police detective turned [[TheTriadsAndTheTongs underworld kingpin]] (Mr. Chang), a Soviet commander sent one too many times into Afghanistan who took her troops and formed [[TheMafiya the syndicate Hotel Moscow]] (Ms. Balalaika), a Japanese salaryman whose life just got turned upside down (Rock), and a man who was forced to flee his home country after pissing off both the FBI and TheMafia (Benny).

* In ''CodeGeass'' most major characters have some serious problems, which places them past the DespairEventHorizon and sometimes leads to their dragging others close to them down in the undertow. Most especially, all characters tied to Geass are seriously messed up.

* ''{{Bleach}}'' has large amounts of characters with tragic or complicated pasts. All six of the manga's heroes (Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Uryu, Chad and Renji) all have dead relatives or loved ones with different reactions to their losses which affected their lives. Other characters have had sad backstories like Matsumoto, Gin, Tosen, Ulquiorra, Starrk and Lilinette, and pretty much everybody affected by Aizen's action 101 years prior to the manga's main storyline.

* ''PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' -- unsurprisingly, since it was created by GenUrobuchi.

** The Soviet Union also qualifies. Russia is an insane type 3 StepfordSmiler with an awful past. Belarus is a Yandere who wants to get married to Russia. Ukraine is a sentimental girl who's always trying to defect. Lithuania is TheWoobie, complete with scars presumably inflicted by Russia, and is in unwavering love with Belarus, who always abuses him: the one time he had a "date" with her, she ended up breaking his fingers, ''stilling doing so as he talked to Poland afterwards''. Latvia is the fragile one who's always trembling. Estonia seems to be the OnlySaneMan, but that could be just because he gets so little screen time; he's still terrified of Russia and identified as part of the "trembling trio" with Lithuania and Latvia.

** The Soviet Union also qualifies. Russia is an insane type 3 StepfordSmiler with an awful past. Belarus is a Yandere who wants to get married to Russia. Ukraine is a sentimental girl who's always trying to defect. Lithuania is TheWoobie, complete with scars presumably inflicted by Russia, and is in love with Belarus. Latvia is the fragile one who's always trembling. Estonia seems to be the OnlySaneMan, but that could be just because he gets so little screen time; he's still terrified of Russia and identified as part of the "trembling trio" with Lithuania and Latvia.

* The TV Series of ''BlackRockShooter''. The only sane person is Yuu. [[spoiler: Nope. Actually, Yuu vanished into Otherworld years ago. The person we've been seeing named Yuu is actually her Otherself Strength. She's not crazy, however, she IS the crazy.]]

* Just about everyone in ''Manga/DeathNote'' has problems. Light is a KnightTemplar with [[AGodAmI a god complex]], Matsuda watches all his ideals and beliefs crumble around him, Soichiro is chasing after a criminal [[DevilInPlainSight happens to be his son]], and don't get me ''started'' on the kids at Wammy's House.

* ''NeonGenesisEvangelion'' may well be the king of this trope. Keeping within the circle of main characters, we have: Shinji, the shy, borderline-depressed protagonist with negligible self-esteem and self-worth; Rei, an emotionally-repressed ExtremeDoormat who sees no issue with considering herself totally expendable; Asuka, a self-hating, abrasive, attention-seeking {{Tsundere}} borderline-narcissist; Misato, a BrokenBird who craves love and acceptance but fears more than anything the very commitment that comes with the deeper relationships said desire entails. [[{{Yandere}} The rest]] [[StepfordSmiler of the]] [[UnresolvedSexualTension cast is]] [[FreudianExcuse little better]].

* It seems that in KurosagiCorpseDeliveryService's world, becoming an orphan correlates with gaining weird skills or powers. So far, with the exception of the main character, all of the main cast and a few secondary characters who also have supernatural powers have revealed that something horrible happened to their parent or parents as a child.

* Subverted and played straight in Manga/OnePiece. Subverted in that every member of the Straw Hat Pirates has a depressing backstory, but [[AngstWhatAngst very rarely]] does it ever seem to get them down. Other characters, on the other hand, play it straight. Montblanc Cricket was bullied and derided for most of his childhood because of something his ''ancestor'' did (ironically, his ancestor was telling the truth and no one believed him). [[HotAmazon Boa Hancock]] and her sisters were sold as slaves to [[AristocratsAreEvil the Celestial Dragons]] when they were young, who did such terrible acts to them that they can't even speak about it without breaking down into tears. And surprisingly, [[spoiler: Arlong and his followers]] presumably went through some hard times, as [[spoiler: mermen and fishmen were always treated horribly by humans]].