History Main / GermanicDepressives

* While ''Franchise/AceAttorney'''s Miles Edgeworth isn't German by birth, he has a German mentor (also an example of this trope) and spent much of his youth in Germany, so he qualifies. [[WhipItGood Franziska von Karma]] is also an example. (Mind you, this is only in the localized version; in the original game the Karumas are American.)

* In ''Theatre/TheMerchantOfVenice'', one of the suitors Portia and Nerissa are discussing is the Count of Palatine (The Rhenish Palatinate region in southwestern Germany, to the northwest of Bavaria). Portia describes his face as being a PerpetualFrowner who never smiles at jokes, and is so prone to moodiness as if to say "If you won't marry me, then find someone else and see if I care!" Portia predicts that if rejected, he will become a melancholy philosopher, and she would rather prefer the company of a skull and crossbones than the County Palatine.

* Constanze from ''Franchise/LittleWitchAcademia'' is either from Germany or Austria, she never speaks, never smiles or emotes beside some grumpy looks and is completely focused on working and nothing else. She is implied to suffer from some AmbiguousDisorder. [[spoiler:Though [[WhenSheSmiles she does smile]] at the end of an episode.]]

** This trope is also played straight with the [[GrumpyBear grumpy]], [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold unfriendly]] and somewhat [[TheCynic pessimistic]] [[TheGunslinger Switzerland]], but averted with the very [[NiceGirl sweet and cheerful]] [[ProperLady Liechtenstein]].

Germans in fiction are often stereotyped in one of two ways: as [[AllGermansAreNazis Nazis]], or as being dour, serious and frustrated to the point of ridicule. ([[BeingEvilSucks Or both]].) This is a mild TruthInTelevision: while Germans do, indeed, have [[GermanHumour a sense of humour]], they also [[WorkHardPlayHard strictly divide work time and leisure time]] (see {{Oktoberfest}}), and since chances are you'll encounter German people in business situations, this means they will be perceived by others as deathly serious during the former. This has also contributed to the additional stereotype of Germans being portrayed as [[GermanicEfficiency ruthlessly efficient]]. May be known as German ''Gründlichkeit'' in other nations.

* Constanze from ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia'' is either from Germany or Austria, she never speaks, never smiles or emotes beside some grumpy looks and is completely focused on working and nothing else. She is implied to suffer from some AmbiguousDisorder. [[spoiler:Though [[WhenSheSmiles she does smile]] at the end of an episode.]]

* Music/MitchBenn's "A Song for Europe", which attacked every competitor in the Series/EurovisionSongContest, ending with [[SelfDeprecation the UK]], and frequently using cultural stereotypes, opens by calling the Germans "fundamentally incapapble of fun".

* Music/MitchBenn's "A Song for Europe", which attacked every competitor in the Series/EurovisonSongContest, ending with [[SelfDeprecation the UK]], and frequently using cultural stereotypes, opens by calling the Germans "fundamentally incapapble of fun".

* Taken to an extreme in LimboOfTheLost with the figure of the Worry meister, a diminutive bureaucrat with a terrible German accent whose job is to worry about the other residents of limbo. While he's not really obstructive, he's always EXTREMELY depressed.

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* Johann Strauss from ''VideoGame/QuakeIV'', Rhino Squad's high-strung InsufferableGenius technician.
* Siegfried of the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'', but then, he has every right to be depressed given his backstory.
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'''s The Medic swaps constantly between 'cross and dour' to [[FourEyesZeroSoul 'just plain crazy.']]
** He seems fairly cheerful throughout "Meet the Medic", and a few of his [[HollerButton voice clips]] are puns, but even more of them are complaining about his own team.
** This element of his character seems to have gradually been reversed, to the point that in the Halloween 2012 event ''all'' of his lines are completely enthusiastic, making him a canonically gleeful MadDoctor.

** [[http://www.colbertnation.com/video/tags/Hans%20Beinholtz Ich bin jetzt sicher daß Herr Beinholtz eine zeitweilige aber regelmäßige Rolle geworden ist]].

** This bit about Germans and [[http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/270726/april-13-2010/thought-for-food---mentally-ill-advertisers---german-cupcakes cupcakes]] (Starts at 3:40-ish).

Also, Germans, like [[BritishStuffiness several other north European countries]], tend to be just a tad more reserved than more laid-back, open Americans are accustomed to. Unfortunately, this reserved-ness is often mistaken for coldness. This trope exists even inside Germany, as Northern Germans are often perceived that way by the rest of Germany.

->''"The Teutonic reputation for brutality is well founded. Their operas last three or four days, and they have no word for 'fluffy'".''[[note]]For the sake of fairness and pedantry it should be noted that the Germans actually have at least five words for fluffy/fuzzy, though none that directly equates to the meaning of the word in English as we understand it.[[/note]]

And as to the quote at the top of this page: it's "flauschig" (or "fluffig", a borrowing from English).

* In ''[[Manga/VictorianRomanceEmma Emma]]'', the Mölders family and many of their staff are from Germany, but with the sole exception of dour, silent footman Hans, they completely avert this trope.

* Creator/TheMarxBrothers' parents were both Germans [[note]]Technically their father was an Alsatian--no, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Shepherd_Dog not that kind]]--a Germanic culture now in French territory (the elder Marx's friends called him "Frenchie")[[/note]]. Groucho originally played a Germanic accented character which he dropped just about WWI.

Also, Germans, like [[BritishStuffiness several other north European countries]], tend to be just a tad more reserved than more laid-back, open Americans are accustomed to. Unfortunately, this reserved-ness is often mistaken for coldness. This trope exists even inside Germany, as North Germans are often perceived that way by the rest of Germany.

* ''Series/TwoBrokeGirls'': In Episode 6 of Season 6 Sophie is trying to get her baby Barbra to laugh, without success. When she enters the diner she delivers this line:
--->'''Sophie:''' Hey everybody! We're here! Yeah, me and the Ice Queen. You know, if she doesn't laugh soon, people will think she's German.

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* ''Manga/FromEroicaWithLove'': Klaus von dem Eberbach exemplifies this trope to the tenth degree. Hates disorder, doesn't know how to relax (literally), uptight, conservative, and always clad in a suit - Klaus can send the stress levels of a room soaring just by walking in. Interestingly though, he's the only German to conform to [[NationalStereotypes his national stereotype]] in a series rife with them: his German underlings include a [[WholesomeCrossdresser sweet natured transvestite]] somewhat prone to hysterics, a beleaguered second in command, a goofy third in command and an earnest rookie.
* In ''Manga/{{Cyborg 009}}'', the German Cyborg Albert Heinrich/004 is given one of the most tragic backstories as an UsefulNotes/EastGermany escapé who loses his fiancée and has his body half-torn in their escape, is reconstructed as a ''heavily'' armored Cyborg by Black Ghost, and then is put into a coma for many years. Though he (thankfully) doesn't reach {{wangst}} levels, he often remarks on how everything has changed for him and shows deep worry [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul about how much of a human he truly is]] [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman due to all his implants]].
* Victor Hillshire from ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'' gave off this vibe in the earlier parts of the manga, to the point where Jose [[LampshadeHanging pointed it out]] when the former was asking the latter for advice in ''fratello'' relationships. We see later that he just doesn't socialize with children well, Triela in particular because [[spoiler:he rescued her from a SnuffFilm death back from when he was in Europol in a bungled raid that got his partner killed, kidnapped her from custody from the Dutch police and brought her to Italy for treatment before he found out the true nature of the Social Welfare Agency.]] It was awkward at first, until her decision to let Mario Bossi go see his daughter rather than stay and be protected by the Agency helps him see her as a partner rather than a child or a cyborg killer, as he had difficulty knowing how to interact with the latter two. Now, ironically, they're the closest ''fratello'' group other than Sandro and Petra, who actually took it [[RelationshipUpgrade a step further]].
* The generally taciturn Hoover Kippenburg in the ''Manga/{{Area 88}}'' manga was stricken with guilt over a training accident back in Europe that killed several pilots. When he briefly takes over for Commander Saki during the Wolfpack arc, Shin describes Hoover's style as steady and methodical.
* Uryuu Ishida from ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': While probably not actually being German (he is a Quincy, but they are based on Germans in terms of culture), he is a very serious character who never relaxes. Even around his friends and in peace time he will always stay stern and unsmiling. His friends are sometimes thrown off by this attitude.
* Most of the members of the German-themed Kuromorimine Womens' College of ''Anime/GirlsUndPanzer'' are quite serious, and have difficulty lightening up. Maho, commander of the tankery team, calls some of them over for a Christmas party, but they mistake it for a review of their recent mistakes in tankery, and dread it. In the party, Maho often finds herself not knowing what to do, and wondering what her younger sister Miho, a former student that [[GoingNative has been 'naturalized' by her colorful new school]], would do in the situation.
* In ''[[Manga/VictorianRomanceEmma Emma]]'', the Mölders family and many of their staff are from Germany, but with the sole exception of dour, silent footman Hans, they completely avert this trope.

* Constanze from ''Anime/LittleWitchAcademia'' is either from Germany or Austria, she never speaks, never smiles or emotes beside some grumpy looks and is completely focused on working and nothing else. She is implied to suffer from some AmbiguousDisorder. [[spoiler:Though [[WhenSheSmiles she does smile]] at the end of an episode.]]

* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'': In ''Recap/AsterixAndTheGoths'' the Goths (here anachronistically and incorrectly used as a blanket name for the Germanic tribes living northeast of Roman Gaul[[note]] The historic Goths were a group of tribes - Ostrogoths and Visigoths - that first came into contact and conflict with the Romans during the 3rd century A.D. in South-East Europe and whose forefathers, if semi-legendary accounts can be trusted, possibly lived in the region of the lower Vistula (Gdansk etc.) in what is now Poland around the time in which ''Asterix'' is set, ca. 50 B.C.[[/note]]) were cast as militaristic war-mongering villains, playing into the AllGermansAreNazis trope. Creators Creator/ReneGoscinny and Creator/AlbertUderzo later regretted the tone of this story, saying it was made only twenty years after the war when anti-German sentiments were still vivid. In later Asterix stories Germans are portrayed in a more sympathetic light, though still as people who are often deadly serious.

* Contrast the German art-house film, ''Film/WingsOfDesire'', with its American quasi-remake, ''Film/CityOfAngels'', and note how the commoners behave in both films. The former very much lives up to this trope.
* Creator/WernerHerzog and Creator/RainerWernerFassbinder, widely acclaimed German directors, whose movies often end with {{Downer Ending}}s, and are mostly(in Fassbinder's case - always) on cynicism side of SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism.

* German siblings Hans and Petra in ''Literature/{{Caliphate}}''. He is more dour and resentful while she is ProneToTears, though considering they were taken as slaves from their family and the [[ChildSoldiers sort]] [[BreakTheCutie of]] [[DefiledForever things]] they go through, it's more than justified.

* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'': This was the secondary idea to the 'World's Funniest Joke' sketch. It was so funny, [[BrownNote anyone who heard it died laughing]], so of course the British employed it as a weapon of war. (A particularly well-trained SS officer was capable of resisting the joke for a few seconds.) German attempts to develop a counter weapon were...unsuccessful.
--> '''Hitler''': Mein Hund hat keine Nase!
--> '''Hitlerjugend''': ''Wie riecht er''?
--> '''Hitler''': Schrecklich!
** For those interested in a translation: it's the "My dog has no nose" joke. You know the punchline.

* Recurring characters The Nihilists from ''The Ronnie John's Half Hour'' fit this trope to a T, always dressed in black, with stoic faces and never smiling. The more Unfunny they were, the funnier the sketch. One sketch had them leading an aerobics class at a gym, and, when asked to start the warm-ups, one of them replied, "My body is always cold." Other sketches have included them hosting a children's television show and a Seinfield parody of sorts.
* ''Series/TheDanaCarveyShow'' had two characters called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "the Germans who say nice things."]] They [[AllGermansAreNazis stood side by side at attention, shouting]] things like "EET VOS A PLEASURE BABYSITTING KEVIN" and "''MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS'' IS THE FEEL-GOOD MOVIE OF THE YEEEEEAR!"
* An example from Germany itself: ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernd_das_Brot Bernd das Brot]]'' (Bernd the Bread), a (slightly) anthropomorphic loaf-of-bread puppet; supposedly only working in television due to a lack of other employment opportunities, always at the butt-end of practical jokes and stunts set up by the producers and his well-meaning colleagues (a sheep and a bush), instead of just being left alone to memorise the pattern of his wallpaper and expand his collection of the most boring railway track videos. Interestingly, this world-weary sufferer originated on a children's channel, with the nightly repeat of the sketches greatly expanding his adult fanbase. Following this he even became a topic for high-brow newspaper columns, with commentators linking his popularity to the over-the-top, PlayedForLaughs portrayal of his depression resonating with the German psyche.
** One interpretation is that Bernd's popularity stems from his claiming the right to be unhappy in the hyper-happy media-dominated world of today. A bit like a box-shaped [[Literature/BraveNewWorld Savage]].

* Mike Myers' Dieter character from the recurring ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' skit "Sprockets" certainly had a grim façade, although he also seemed to take pleasure in his weirdness.
** Kate [=McKinnon's=] portrayal of Angela Merkel falls into this a little, but there's definitely a healthy, albeit very dry sense of humor under the surface. (And a poorly-hidden crush on Barack Obama.)
--->''Baracht... is it vorking? Am I making you jealous? Leave Michelle.''
* The Australian comedy clip show "The Ronnie Johns Half Hour" had a group of three psuedointellectuals with German accents who fit this trope to a tee.
* One challenge on ''Series/TopGear'' required the presenters to go to "the world's least amusing city"... which of course turned out to be Berlin.
* [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Peter Schuler]] plays with this trope in ''Series/BreakingBad''. He's definitely glum and morose, [[TheComicallySerious even when eating tater tots]], but other Germans find this behavior off-putting and odd. But you'd be depressed too if [[spoiler: you were contemplating suicide after your drug dealing operation got dismantled.]]
* ''Series/RootIntoEurope'': While travelling in Germany the British man Mr. Root assumes all Germans have no sense of comedy. He is proven wrong immediately while entering a German bar. As he bumps into a glass door all Germans inside immediately laugh at him.

* Averted in the Irish sitcom Series/{{Killinaskully}} by Dieter, who almost never loses his sunny disposition despite the often downright outlandish behaviour of the EccentricTownsfolk.
* Also averted by Otto and Gretchen Mankusser of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', who are unfailingly cheerful, good-natured, and ditzy.

* Sasha Nein from ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' is a brooding, thoughtful fellow who is made all the more funny by the whackiness going on around him. This makes him a fairly good teacher for away-with-the-fairies Raz.

* Siegfried of the ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'', but then, he has every right to be depressed given his backstory.
* Gunther Hermann from ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' is a bundle of angst and frustration who takes ''everything'' seriously, whether it's the death of a friend or the [[SeriousBusiness unavailability of orange soda]].

->''"The Teutonic reputation for brutality is well founded. Their operas last three or four days, and they have no word for 'fluffy'".''[[note]]For the sake of fairness and pedantry it should be noted that the Germans actually have at least five words for fluffy/fuzzy, though none that directly equates to the meaning of the word in English as we understand it [[/note]]

** Describing World Cup fever as "the terrible disease of nationalism and competition, the twin seeds of war. Go team."