History Main / DownerBeginning

Alternatively, the beginning can make the work look very dark and depressing - but it gets better pretty quick and it turns out that the story is not at all as dark as the beginning would have us believe.

Likely to lead to BackFromTheBrink... But if the story is truly depressing or takes place in a true CrapsackWorld, the Downer Beginning will lead to a DownerEnding, as all hope of solving the problem has been crushed (or ItGotWorse).

[[folder:Anime andManga]]

* Blutengel's song "Frozen Heart" starts out just as bleak as the name sounds like, but it turns out to be more about DefrostingIcequeen.

* Blutengel's song "Frozen Heart" starts out just as bleak as the name sounds like, but it turns out to be more about DefrostingTheIcequeen.

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[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

* ''MidnightNation'' starts out with the hero getting killed. [[spoiler:And then it goes downhill from there, as he discovers first that the devil has taken his soul and then that he will become a tainted creature if he gets it back. Yes, if he DO get it back. Without a soul he doesn't belong anywhere - with his soul back, he belongs with the devil.]]

* ''MidnightNation'' starts out with the hero getting killed. [[spoiler:And then it goes downhill from there, as he discovers first that the devil has taken his soul and then that he will become a tainted creature if he doesn't get it back.]]

* ''MidnightNation'' starts out with the hero getting killed. [[spoiler:And then it goes downhill from there, as he discovers first that the devil has taken his soul and then that he will become a tainted creature if he gets it back.]]

* Oh, you wanna' talk about {{Pixar}}? Well how about ''{{Up}}''? Most. Depressing. Opening. Ever.

* At the beginning of ''JurassicPark 2'', when that little girl gets attacked by the compys.

* ''InglouriousBasterds'' starts with Shoshanna's (one of the protagonists') parents and siblings getting murdered in a shooting, while she miraculously escapes the massacre.

* ''MassEffect 2'' opens with the ''Normandy'' being destroyed, unable to put up a fight. Worse, [[PlayerCharacter Shepard]] dies making sure Joker gets off the ship.

* In [[DragonAge Dragon Age: Origins]], all of the eponymous origin stories end with the player character being to leave their old life behind to join the Grey Wardens. [[DoomedHometown Oftentimes, there is no more old life to return to.]] This is followed by a catastrophic battle at Ostagar which results in the death of all but two of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden. Since the Wardens are the only ones capable of defeating the Blight, by the time the [[OpeningTheSandbox sandbox opens]], Ferelden is considered to be on the verge of destruction.

* ''{{Firefly}}'' opens with the Independents losing a major battle in the galaxy's civil war, and the DespairEventHorizon for the main character.

* ''{{Firefly}}'' opens with losing the battle for the future of the universe.

* In the first book of TheNightAngelTrilogy, before any of the action has even started, twelve-year-old Azoth's guild leader dies, making the CompleteMonster Rat the new leader. Rat then threatens Azoth with homelessness, [[spoiler: kidnaps and rapes his best friend, Jarl, and mutilates Doll Girl.]]

* ''LawAndOrderSVU'' episodes tend to start with a really gruesome intro where some random citizen stumble over someone who just got traumatized or died.

* ''MidnightNation'' starts out with the hero getting killed. [[spolier:And then it goes downhill from there, as he discovers first that the devil has taken his soul and then that he will become a tainted creature if he gets it back.]]

Most stories that involve disasters, genocide, rape, murder or whatever horror imaginable ''wait'' a little bit before things turn totally awful. Let the plot develop for a while and show some signs that things are about to turn nasty. Some works, however, prefer to kickstart the action my letting whatever unspeakable horror the story is about take place in the very first scene.

Alternatively, the beginning make the work look very dark & depressive - but it gets better pretty quick and it turns out that the story is not at all as dark as the beginning would have us believe.

Likely to lead to BackFromTheBrink... But if the story is truly depressing or takes place in a true CrapsackWorld, the DownerBeginning will lead to a DownerEnding, as all hope of solving the problem has been crushed (or ItGotWorse).

Backstory only counts if it is [[ShowDontTell shown rather then merely mentioned]], and only if it's at the beginning of the actual story.

Compare StartToCorpse - which in itself is ''not'' a subtrope of this, because in many cases neither the characters nor the audience get any chance to develop a sympathy for the victim. Also compare YouCantThwartStageOne, which can be jumpstarted by this trope.

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* ''UchuuSenkanYamato'' -- Begins with the Earth getting hit by planet bombs.

* {{Kick-Ass}} starts off like this, with Kick-Ass getting his testes electrocuted... (The Film version has ''another'' DownerBeginning.)
* MidnightNation starts out with the protagonist getting killed. [[spolier:And then it goes downhill from there, as he discover first that the devil has taken his soul and then that he will become a tainted creature if he gets it back.]]

* "Harry Potter And The Nightmares Of Futures Past" begins as most of the shit already hit the fan and Harry gets to see the CrapsackWorld he has to continue to live in.

* StarWarsANewHope begins with the good guys getting captured or killed, an important victory for the bad guys. Adding insult to injury, they gloat about just having destroyed the last traces of democracy.
* {{Memento}}. You see Leonard kill Teddy despite his protests, and then you have to spend the rest of the movie watching the poor guy interact with Leonard.
* ''{{Terminator}} 2''. Starts with Judgment Day, the nuclear war that ended human civilization, and continues with the killer machines fighting humans.
* The first {{X-Men}} movie starts in a concentration camp.
* {{Kick-Ass}} starts off with a BalckHumor downer, as a guy dressed as a superhero takes a swan dive off a building. (The comic version has ''another'' DownerBeginning.)

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* {{Remnants}}, by K.A. Applegate, starts with the end of the world.

* {{Firefly}} opens with losing the battle for the future of the universe.
* LawAndOrderSVU episodes tends to start with a really gruesome intro where some random citizen stumble over someone who just got traumatized or died.

* In ''GoldenSun'' your hometown is almost completely destroyed by a rockslide and Felix barely make it alive out of the river he falls into.

* FinalFantasyX begins with the destruction of a massive city. [[UnderStatement Things get worse.]]
* FinalFantasyXIII isn't exactly a happy beginning either, from what I remember. Though to some extent, it depends how you define "beginning" - you might need to clarify that in the description...
* ''ViewtifulJoe 2'', right off of the heels of the first game's ending, begins with [[NebulousEvilOrganisation GEDOW]] [[AlienInvasion taking over]] [=MovieLand=] and remodeling it into [=MovieWorld=]. [[BigGood Captain Blue]] is transformed into one of the seven Rainbow Oscars ([[MacGuffin artifacts]] containing the essence of a movie's [[HappilyEverAfter happy ending]]) that [[BigBad the Black Emperor]] is trying to collect. Joe and Silvia [[BroughtDownToNormal briefly lose their]] [[HenshinHero Henshin powers]] and are deposited in a prehistoric jungle. Joe, despite being GenreSavvy, [[PlayedForLaughs takes this all in stride]].

* The FlashGordon animated movie begins with fire falling from the sky and chaos in the city.
* ThundarrTheBarbarian: "''[[OpeningNarration The year: 1994. From out of space comes a runaway planet, hurtling between the Earth and the Moon, unleashing cosmic destruction! Man's civilization is cast in ruin!]]''"
* TitanAE begins with another race [[FinalSolution destroying planet Earth]].
* FindingNemo: The movie begins with the death of Marlin's wife and all but one of their eggs.
* Oh, you wanna' talk about Pixar? Well how about ''{{Up}}''? Most. Depressing. Opening. Ever.
* ''AnAmericanTail'' opens with the Mousekewitz's village [[WatchingTroyBurn being burned by Cossacks]].