History Main / HumansAreBastards

** Venom Snake makes a remark one of his cassette tapes that Hot Coldman is proven wrong about humanity's goodness by thinking they would allow themselves to be nuked to avoid a nuclear apocalypse, and ''severely'' underestimated on what they're capable of, as they're this close to launching a retaliatory strike, and they only stopped when Peace Walker drowned itself. Which, much like ''Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance'' is a huge swerve in tone, as the primary series is all about RousseauWasRight, where no matter how loathsome they are, they normally have a tragic backstory that explains their actions.[[note]]For reference, the Pieuvre Armement only executed captive rebels, is, because, the low oxygen in the mountainous region made them unnecessarily aggressive, due to their SOP system being at their absolute limit (with implications that, had it not for said system, they would, at least, treat them like people). And the Middle Eastern rebels only executed Praying Mantis troops, because of the need to conserve their rations, and the heat of the battle meant that they have no time to relax[[/note]]

* ''Manga/GhostInTheShell'''s setting runs on this, to the point that the Tachikomas are actually much more human than the actual humans.

** Ends up being played straight in that [[spoiler:most humans outside the walls see Eldians, those who can transform into titans, as abhorrent, evil devils and the way Eldians are treated is definitely a case of this trope. However, it's not clear if Eldians are ''actually'' humans and the term "devil" is being used as an insult, or if they're literal devils who have merely taken on the form of humans, so it's both Humans Are Bastards from one side and Eldians Are Bastards from another.]]
* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' likes to push this idea: ''every single evil thing'' that happens in the series can be traced back to human corruption and desire, and there is no external threat to humanity. Supernatural monsters? Humans dreamed them up. The demonic Apostles? All former humans who willingly and knowingly turned themselves into monsters. The God Hand? Same deal, but even more depraved and powerful. [[spoiler:The Idea of Evil, the UnseenEvil that is suggested to be behind everything? Born of unconscious collective human desire.]] All the horror and the suffering humanity goes through in the series is, ultimately, self-inflicted.
** The most misanthropic part of the whole manga has to be in the Conviction: Birth Ceremony arc. Sure, there's the obvious; a CorruptChurch with a fundamentalist inquisitor and his sadistic torturers, a pagan {{Cult}} that indulges in human sacrifice and cannibalism, and the violent campaign between the two trapping a population of displaced, starving war refugees. However, it turns out that these "ordinary people" are also not fully good either, falsely accusing people they don't like of heresy to get rid of them and robbing whatever goods left with violent force, driven by extremes like fear and distrust and spite towards everyone else. However, it is important to note that these horrible conditions were, [[InMysteriousWays in a way]], manipulated by the [[GreaterScopeVillain Godhand]], as this cumination of [[DespairEventHorizon widespread despair and misanthropy]] allows them to kickstart an Incarnation [[ZombieApocalypse Ceremony]]. Still, their plan works ''because'' of human nature, not in spite of it; they are smart enough to exploit this trope for their plans.

* In ''Anime/TheRyuCaveBoy'', set in the prehistoric era when humans and dinosaurs co-existed, the Big Horn Tribe repeatedly trade, kill and harm one another, and cling to archaic beliefs. The tribes believe that pale skin is a bad omen, hence forcing Esta's son Ryu to be FedToTheBeast, Tyranno. It is an animal (Kitty the ape) that takes pity on the baby and saves him. Even in the GrandFinale, the final villain [[spoiler: isn't Tyranno, but a fellow human, Taka - who hates Ryu because of his skin colour as when he was a baby the Whiteskins murdered his entire family, even though Ryu never did anything to him.]]