Follow TV Tropes

This is based on opinion. Please don't list it on a work's trope example list.

Following

Nightmare Fuel / Senran Kagura

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sk_ghosts_5265.jpg
Yes, those are breasts on Orochi.
Don't let the comedic undertones and cutesy fanservice fool you. This series is still capable of having some pretty violent and disturbing moments. Here's why:
  • Chapter 7 of Guren no Hebi in general
  • Haruka has absolutely no problem with turning you into a doll or puppet for her satisfaction. The way she even described the process to Mirai is also pretty unsettling.
  • How Miyabi recollects her mother's death. A yōma appears at the exact moment she came to get her, and right after she tells Miyabi to run blood sprayed everywhere. Before she knew it, the yōma had crushed her mother's head right in front of her.
    • Before then, she describes how it was made of fused-together animal corpses, with countless human limbs jutting out from inside.
  • Dōgen is cornered by Rin and Homura. His plan is failing and has no other options to take. At least that's what it seems. Instead, he decides to get powered up by eating a yōma fetus.
  • Homura encountering the possessed versions of her comrades after getting absorbed by Orochi. At first, she appears in a very out of place quiet field and finds one of her friends in a white sundress. Then, out of nowhere, they shift to a demonically possessed version of them.
    • Burst Re:Newal takes it up a notch by expressly clarifying that they are being possessed by Orochi, getting infused with hatred and are at risk of turning into youma themselves. Their character theme songs are now heavily distorted and more menacing. Yomi, Hikage, and Mirai fight like they normally would with more powerful and creepier moves (Mirai's bullets now being shot out of eyeballs) while Haruka, who comes closest to losing her humanity, attacks with a completely new arsenal of weapons that are far closer to Orochi's than hers. She starts outright disintegrating into red energy as the fight goes on.
  • Designs for the yoma can be pretty "out-there". Common traits seem to be being made up of earth, clockwork gears, or other golem-like material, while also being fused with human faces/masks. It's honestly pretty jarring compared to the rest of the series.
    • The very first yōma introduced in the series is Orochi, pictured on this page, sets up a bar on how much of an abominations they can be. It's helped along by just how unexpected its arrival is; the story has been a serious drama about rival ninja schools (if you haven't been paying attention to the hidden notes), Homura and Asuka just had their climatic battle... then Asuka suddenly has to fight an eldritch abomination. Orochi is a mechanical monstrosity made out of Hebijo Academy buildings which resembles a giant female humanoid with five snake necks, with four of them ending in masses of katanas and its single head being full of leering human faces. It is also born out of pain and suffering of the dead Hebijo students.
  • Ryōna's masochistic antics often delve into this territory. She really doesn't have the Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant trope on her portfolio for nothing, let alone her own name.
  • The Training from Hell at Hebijo academy is a terrifying thought. Would you seriously be able to stay submerged under water for more than THREE HUNDRED HOURS? No? Well that's too bad, because the elite squad AND shinobi instructors are allowed to throw kunai knives and shuriken at you for failure. How about concealing yourself underground... while holding your breath FOR AN EVEN LONGER PERIOD OF TIME? No again? Kunai knives and shuriken await you. It's a total miracle how Hikage, let alone anyone in Hebijo, was able to survive such sadistic training. If this was the training, it's no wonder that The Battle Didn't Count was used.
  • Hikage's Frenzy in Estival Versus cranks up the scariness factor from the previous iterations. First of all, she activates it by covering herself in a sphere of dark energy. After which Hikage leans forwards before the player is threatened to a close-up of Hikage's face, with her having Glowing Eyes of Doom, shrunken irises, her sticking her tongue out and what sounds like a rattlesnake.
    Hikage: I'M SO HAPPY!
  • The Root of Calamity powers Murasaki and Imu possess are shown to be absolutely horrifying when witnessed first hand; and because of said powers, Murasaki has one of the most violent Berserk Button entries out of any character in the series just by someone touching Bebeby. Seriously, do not fuck with that bear.
    • Murasaki in combat, thanks to her utterly distraught screaming while using her Ninpo Arts. She is very unhappy with having to fight, and using her most powerful attacks causes her to scream such wonderful things as "JUST LET ME DIEEEE" or "Someone... HELP MEEEEE!"
    • Imu's unbridled rage when Ryobi almost kills Murasaki also showcases just how destructive this power is. Even more terrifying? Suzune informs Miyabi that this very power is capable of being on par with that of a yōma's. Let that sink in for a second.
  • Imagine being the daughter of a shinobi clan with a long history. Now, believe that you had no interest in being a ninja, but you were forced to be one because of a family mark that appeared in your eyes. Said mark can control every person around you. Because of it, you started to think that all your family members weren't getting angry at you, despite screwing up several times, because you were unknowningly controlling them with that mark, and because of that you started to hate your family, that mark and even yourself. That's Hibari's past for you.
  • Let me remind you that in Shinovi Versus, during the Hebijo arc, the characters that you're playing as mercilessly kill all the characters that you may have grown to like. Thankfully, only the beginning and the ending (when no one die) are truly canon.
  • Every team leader has their own type of random character trait, or traits, that you'd expect from a series like this. Homura loves meat, Yumi is all for cuteness and justice, Renka despises girly stuff, Tsubame has a height complex and zero sense of direction, Kochō loves to punish students who break the rules, etc. It's just the usual silliness, right? Until we get to Yūyaki and learn that she loves to collect shiny things, as well as mediate any kind of argument that arises within her team. No harm in those right? Then there's her other character trait, which tells us that she becomes an absolute savage when she gets a hold of her two swords. Oh, and remember the other two quirks about her? Even those have unsettling results. Her love for shiny stuff has led to her developing a rather creepy obsession with Leo because of how "shiny her and her sword are", and her duty as leader to assess any conflict within the team can also result in her going berserk. It's quite telling when one of Ushimaru's quotes is her advising the Instructor not to give Yūyaki her own weapons out of caution.
    • And there's also Asuka, who used to beat up both boys and girls. Happy-go-lucky and naive Asuka used to be someone so violent... and we're not even given a reason for such behavior! You should be glad she is a Vanilla Protagonist considering the alternative...
  • One of New Wave's boss characters, Maki, is this in spades. She's an Ax-Crazy shinobi whose sole purpose is to murder anyone she comes across out of sheer jealousy. Bridezilla doesn't even begin to describe her in the second honeymoon event.
  • The P1 Climax Arc from Peach Beach Splash, once the girls start realizing the nature of where they are. They've effectively been sealed into a pocket dimension, and if they take too long inside or choose to stay, yōmas will run wild without shinobi to stop them and slaughter the entire world. Basically a prison in paradise’s clothing.

Top