History DysfunctionJunction / AnimeAndManga

* The characters of ''Manga/{{Life}}'' easily count. The protagonist is a [[SelfHarm 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, said ex-friend is a {{Yandere}} AttentionWhore, the protagonists only true friend for most of the story is a [[JapaneseDelinquent delinquent]], the protagonists love interest was severely bullied in middle school...

* ''Manga/CountCain'' has hardly a well-adjusted character in the whole bunch, mostly driven by Cain's BigScrewedUpFamily (Cain himself regularly beaten and told he was inherently evil due to his name, his half-brother [[RaisedAsTheOppositeGender hidden in girls' clothes]] to keep him from a similar fate-- unsuccessfully, as he was later subject to similar abuse, tricked into [[IAteWhat eating his pet]], and considers other animals infinitely superior to humans-- his father and mother being [[IncestIsRelative siblings]]), but also present in the unrelated and side characters. [[TheJeeves Riff]] seems to have some identity problems [[spoiler: which come to a head in the climax where [[TomatoInTheMirror it turns out]] he's an ''entirely invented'' SplitPersonality of a cruel man working for Cain's father]], Oscar developed a bizarre fixation on Cain because he resembles his dead fiancée-- a fixation he then transfers to [[WifeHusbandry Cain's ten-year-old half-sister]], and one-shot characters include a little boy who gets violently protective of the elder sister he claims to hate, a girl who was crippled by her mother [[MyBelovedSmother so she could never leave home]] and who learned to [[LivingDollCollector kill people and preserve them]] so they'd never leave her. And that barely scratches the surface. At least little Merriweather seems to be okay....

* ''Anime/WonderEggPriority'': Each of the heroines have some significant baggage that [[ASharedSuffering helps them bond]] and work through their respective traumas: [[spoiler:Ai was bullied for her [[MismatchedEyes heterochromia]] and befriended a transfer student who also was bullied because she was seen as a TeachersPet. Said transfer student may have been involved in an illicit relationship with said teacher, and some time after Ai discovered this, her friend committed suicide, driving her into [[{{Hikikomori}} self-imposed isolation]]. Neiru woke up in a hospital to learn that she was stabbed in the back by her sister, who jumped off a bridge afterwards. The scar on her back [[AcheyScars aches]] unless she places herself in danger. Rika is a former idol who learned that a big fan of her's had been shoplifting and fencing stolen goods just to meet her at handshaking events. She tried to set her straight by claiming she could never be friends with someone as portly as her fan was, but this backfired horrifically when said fan developed an eating disorder and starved herself to death. On top of her having never known her father, this drives her to SelfHarm. Momoe is a {{Bifauxnen}} with a complex about her androgyny whose best friend had fallen in love with her and tried to seduce her. After rejectig her advances, her friend stepped in front of a train.]] And that's to say nothing of the [[VictimOfTheWeek Victims of the Week]]: [[spoiler:All of them were also DrivenToSuicide]].

* ''Manga/InsideMari'' has the main character Isao, who is a scraggly {{hikikomori}} living off his parents money and [[StalkerWithACrush obsessed with]] a high school girl who he [[FreakyFridayFlip ends up in the body of]]. He befriends a [[FriendlessBackground friendless]], bullied girl named Yori who [[SchoolgirlLesbians is in love]] with Mari. [[spoiler:Mari herself is in on the action. It's first implied she has an AmbiguousDisorder when her mother acts dismissive of Isao-in-Mari saying he isn't Mari and gives her some pills. It's later shown her mother was [[AbusiveParents emotionally abusive]] in the past and there are heavy implications that ''was never a bodyswap'' in the first place.]]

!!The following have their own subpages:
* ''DysfunctionJunction/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou''
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* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': {{Tsundere}} OnlySaneMan Karane and extremely thirsty CovertPervert Hakari are the most normal members of the cast... because the others are like [[DysfunctionJunction/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou this]].

* The main three characters of ''Manga/BokuraNoHentai'', especially Ryousuke and Tamura. Marika had a mostly FriendlessBackground and was bullied in elementary for being [[{{transgender}} feminine]], Ryousuke has his own set of problems thanks to his sisters death and his mothers increasing [[SanitySlippage mental health problems]], and Tamura... He starts out only moderately troubled, due to having an abusive relationship with the [[IncompatibleOrientation boy he likes]], but after [[RepressedMemories remembering]] that [[spoiler: he was molested in the past]] he goes off the deep end and starts behaving in inappropriate manners.

* ''LightNovel/SeitokaiNoIchizon'': Zany antics and laughter aside, everyone in the council aside from Kurimu has some deep seated personal trauma, be it bullying (Chizuru), a broken family (Minatsu and Mafuyu) or a broken heart (Ken).

* 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]].

** Madoka is a shy little girl who has no self-worth and feels useless, [[spoiler: which enables her to delete herself from existence to save the world]].

** Kyouko is a harsh, selfish SocialDarwinist who won't kill familiars until they kill several humans and evolve into witches capable of dropping the Grief Seeds she needs, thinks Sayaka should win Kyosuke's love by breaking all his limbs and rendering him helpless without her, and [[spoiler: watched her father commit a murder-suicide on her entire family after her wish goes horribly wrong.]]

* ''Anime/WonderEggPriority'': Each of the heroines have some significant baggage that [[ASharedSuffering helps them bond]] and work through their respective traumas: [[spoiler:Ai was bullied for her [[MismatchedEyes heterochromia]] and befriended a transfer student who also was bullied because she was seen as a TeachersPet. Said transfer student may have been involved in an illicit relationship with said teacher, and some time after Ai discovered this, her friend committed suicide, driving her into [[{{Hikikomori}} self-imposed isolation]]. Neiru woke up in a hospital to learn that she was stabbed in the back by her sister, who jumped off a bridge afterwards. The scar on her back [[AcheyScars aches]] unless she places herself in danger. Rika is a former idol who learned that a big fan of her's had been shoplifting and fencing stolen goods just to meet her at handshaking events. She tried to set her straight by claiming she could never be friends with someone as portly as her fan was, but this backfired horrifically when said fan developed an eating disorder and starved herself to death. On top of her having known her father, this drives her to SelfHarm. Momoe is a {{Bifauxnen}} with a complex about her androgyny whose best friend had fallen in love with her and tried to seduce her. After rejectig her advances, her friend stepped in front of a train.]] And that's to say nothing of the [[VictimOfTheWeek Victims of the Week]]: [[spoiler:All of them were also DrivenToSuicide]].

%%This list has been alphabetized, please put your examples in the correct place according to Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings. Thanks!

%%

* ''Anime/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 (and most of them [[RapeAsDrama don't deal with those issues]] [[MurderIsTheBestSolution very well]]). Put them all together, and the results are...[[FromBadToWorse interesting]].

* ''Manga/PandoraHearts''. It'll be hard naming a character that lacks any issues. [[spoiler:And the protagonist is far from safe.]] We have a ton of {{Yandere}}s, [[NightmareFetishist A]][[WhiteSheep d]][[LonelyRichKid a]], Alice ([[AmnesiacHero who]] [[DeadToBeginWith has]] [[BrokenBird a]] ''[[DrivenToSuicide lot]]'' [[ParentalAbandonment of]] [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter other]] [[NoSocialSkills problems]]), [[SplitPersonality part]] of [[TheStoic Zwei]], [[CainAndAbel Zai and Oscar]], [[TomatoInTheMirror Elliot]], [[TeamMom Sharon]] ([[OlderThanTheyLook a 23 year old]] LoveFreak [[OlderThanTheyLook trapped in a 14 year old's body]]), [[SerialKiller Break]], and [[TheOphelia L]][[CuteAndPsycho a]][[ApocalypseMaiden c]][[GirlInTheTower i]][[KillTheCutie e]].

* While not nearly as angsty or drama-milking as other series, there's barely a character in ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}!'' that isn't maladjusted, severely traumatized, or (most commonly) [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} just]] [[TalkativeLoon plain]] [[AxCrazy nuts]]. You know your cast belongs on the wrong side of the crazy train when even the OnlySaneMan is an orphaned, Mafia-raised teenager with the GhostMemory of a centuries-old MadScientist.

* Often it seems like ''everybody'' in the CrapsackWorld of ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' has a [[DarkAndTroubledPast tragic backstory]], painful family history, and/or severe mental health issues. Special mention goes to [[StarCrossedLovers Guts and Casca]] since the universe seems to have had it in for them and it ''really'' messed them up bad. Here are their problems:

* ''LightNovel/{{Durarara}}'', being a SpiritualSequel to ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'', -- you know you've got a messed up cast when ''every leg of your LoveTriangle'' is a {{Yandere}} [[StalkerWithACrush stalker]]. [[spoiler:And the fourth leg is ''[[ALoveToDismember a freaking head]]''.]]
** [[CuteAndPsycho The]] [[AmbitionIsEvil rest]] [[StepfordSmiler of]] [[AbusiveParents the]] [[BewareTheNiceOnes cast]] [[BitchInSheepsClothing isn't]] [[LackOfEmpathy really]] [[{{Yakuza}} that]] [[TinMan much]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast better]], [[AGodAmI either]]. [[ThereAreNoTherapists And they're]] [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope only]] [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant getting]] [[SerialEscalation WORSE]]. Let's just say that the nearest thing ''resembling'' a "healthy relationship" in the entire series is the one between a [[HeadlessHorseman headless woman]] and the MadDoctor who vivisected her ''when he was'' '''''four'''''.

** It shows, when a most "normal" and well adjusted character in the whole cast is the said [[HeadlessHorseman headless woman]], a 600-years-old [[FairFolk Irish spirit guide]], and ''not'' her [[MayflyDecemberRomance 20-something boyfriend]], nor her ''head'', who's actually [[JerkAss a kind of an asshole]].

%%This list has been alphabetized, please put your examples in the correct place according to Administrivia/HowToAlphabetizeThings.

** Allen Walker: The poor boy was born with a deformed left hand and was abandonned and sold to a circus by his family because of it. There he was used for dirty jobs and regulary abused culminating in being put in a cage with a lion... He finally found a foster father who seemed to love him and traveled with him until his father died a few years later. He then was tricked by The devil in a clown suit into [[ComeBackWrong reviving him wrong]] and forced to kill him. After recovering from the trauma, he was taken by an abusive master to be trained to become an exorcist and fight in a holy war. And this is all before the story begins...

* ''LightNovel/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 [[SenseiChan ten-year-old advisor]] with severe [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} reality-testing issues]]. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

* ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''

* ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia''
** The Allies are not well. England had no friends, and was bullied and hated as a child by his own [[TheUnFavorite family]], and ends up being [[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution left by the one person who ever showed him any love]]. France's [[UsefulNotes/JoanofArc implied love]] was murdered by his own charge turned [[UsefulNotes/HundredYearsWar enemy]]. China's former little brother ''stabbed'' him for seemingly no reason and declared war on him. Russia 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 UsefulNotes/TheAmericanRevolution must have affected him as well, even that's debatable.
** 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, ''still 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.
*** It's fair to say ANY character in Hetalia fits this. Considering the fact that the cast represents countries and their histories, and that history is ''far'' from perfect, the trope is extemely [[JustifiedTrope justified]].

* The primary members of the cast in ''Manga/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]].
* ''Manga/MahouShoujoSite'' is upfront about this. Girls are given sticks ''because'' they have "misfortunate" lives. As to be expected, all the girls have horrible pasts, having experienced things such as bullying, abuse, rape, suicide ideation, and witnessing the murders of their families and friends. Not only that, but the majority of the girls are mentally unstable and murderous, taking full advantage of the power their sticks give them to gleefully enact revenge and kill others. Even the non-magical characters are screwed up.

* ''Manga/{{Narutaru}}''. In the entire 2500+ pages, there are ''two'' (one of whom appears for about 15 pages before being killed off) characters who are not broken or insane.

* Also from Masahiro Itosugi is ''Aki Sora'', where the healthiest sexual relationship is between the titular [[BrotherSisterIncest brother and sister]].

* ''Manga/OniisamaE'': Everyone. And if they don't already have a tragic past, all the drama in the main story more than makes up for it.

* ''Anime/PsychoPass''. The cast had tons of emotional baggage since majority are latent criminals or suspected to become latent criminals. Akane seems to be the only stable character and despite that her best friend and later, her [[spoiler: grandmother]] are brutally killed by the MonsterOfTheDay, she still keeps it cool and doesn't let stress hamper her job.

* ''Manga/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'': Oh boy, let's try to collect a list. And remember, this is all PlayedForLaughs:

** Keare Kimura, whose multiple personalities merged into several hundreds representing national stereotypes after going to Japan (not to mention the fact that her skirt defies gravity);

** Meru Otonashi, a shy, quiet girl who sends abusive emails;

** Maria, an immigrant who may or may not actually be female, and her unnamed friend who carries around a gun;
** Nami Hitou, whose schtick is that [[OnlySaneMan she has none]], yet may have an eating disorder, repeatedly {{self harm}}s, and once tried to jump out of a third story window for attention, but is just sane enough to be the ButtMonkey of the class;
** Kaga Ai, who has a huge GuiltComplex and apologises for being born;
** Okusa Manami, who is married to an [[DomesticAbuse abusive husband]];
** Oora Kanoko, a BlitheSpirit who is almost certainly on drugs;

** There's the two main characters, Itoshiki Nozomu (a suicidally depressed AttentionSeeker) and Kafuka Fuura (a WideEyedIdealist who pretends to be stupid to cover up her brutal childhood);

** Okusa Manami, who is married to an [[SpousalAbuse abusive husband]];