History Main / DarkerAndEdgier

When a show uses this trope as a tagline, expect: [[CerebusSyndrome lots of unpleasant things]] to [[DeusAngstMachina happen to the characters]], [[DarkAndTroubledPast backstories giving them a particular issue they can angst about]], or the setting to be [[WorldHalfEmpty much bleaker]].

As you can expect, this is fairly easy to screw up and poor use of these tropes may just result in DarknessInducedAudienceApathy if the setting gets too depressing or {{Narm}} if the edginess becomes just silly. [[TropesAreTools This doesn't make it a bad trope though]]-- when this is used subtly such as in the HarryPotter series it can create the effect of a series growing up with its audience.

A show will attempt to shift towards [[SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness seriousness]], [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism cynicism]] and [[SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty grit]]. In theory, archetypes which we are usually accustomed to acting in a more noble setting will have to act in one where they must think and act grimly in order to make progress, [[{{Deconstruction}} thus forcing re-examination of the tropes involved]] or the ability to use new tropes and expand the setting making for different sorts of characters. In practice however, writers often are too lazy to make use of what most of those words mean, and ending up randomly "spicing up" a work with gratuitous gore, cursing, and sex - often overdoing it in the process.

When a show uses this trope as a tagline, expect [[CerebusSyndrome things to get worse for the main characters]]: the setting to be [[WorldHalfEmpty much bleaker]], [[BlackAndGrayMorality good]] and [[GreyAndGreyMorality bad to become less obvious]], [[DeusAngstMachina lots of unpleasant things happen to the characters]] or [[DarkAndTroubledPast backstories giving the characters a particular issue they can angst about]].

-> ''"You look around these days...it's all different. It's all changed. TheJoker's ''killing'' people, for Christ's sake! Did I miss something? Was I away when they changed the rules?"''

* DarkerAndEdgier/Fandom

* DarkerAndEdgier/{{Other}}

* DarkerAndEdgier/Other

As you can expect, this is fairly easy to screw up and poor use of these tropes may just result in DarknessInducedAudienceApathy if the setting gets too depressing or {{Narm}} if the edginess becomes just silly. [[TropesAreTools This doesn't make it a bad trope though]] when this is used subtly such as in the HarryPotter series it can create the effect of a series growing up with it's audience.

A show will attempt to shift towards [[SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness seriousness]], [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism cynicism]] and [[SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty grit]]. In theory, archetypes which we are usually accustomed to acting in a more noble setting will have to act in one where they must think and act grimly in order to make progress, [[{{Deconstruction}} thus forcing re-examination of the tropes involved]] or the ability to use new tropes and expand the setting making for different sorts of characters. In practice however, writers often are too lazy to make use of what most of those words mean, and ending up randomly "spicing up" a work with gratuitous gore, cursing, and sex often overdoing it in the process.

-->-- '''ComicBook/TheRiddler''', "[[NeilGaiman When Is A Door]]"

----

[[caption-width-right:250:[-IT'S [[WesternAnimation/Family Guy SMURFING]] AWESOME-]!]]

[[caption-width-right:250:[-IT'S {{GRatedSwearing SMURFING}} AWESOME-]!]]

[[caption-width-right:250:[-IT'S {{WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy SMURFING}} AWESOME-]!]]

[[caption-width-right:250:[-IT'S {{SMURFING}} AWESOME-]!]]

When a show uses this trope as a tagline, expect [[FinaglesLaw anything that can go wrong will go wrong]]: the setting to be a WorldHalfEmpty, [[BlackAndGrayMorality everyone to be bastards]], [[DeusAngstMachina lots of unpleasant things happen to the characters]] or [[DarkAndTroubledPast backstories giving the characters a particular issue they can angst about]].

As you can expect, this is fairly easy to screw up and poor use of these tropes can just result in DarknessInducedAudienceApathy or {{Narm}} instead. [[TropesAreTools This doesn't make it a bad trope though]] when this is used subtly such as in the HarryPotter series it can create the effect of a series growing up with it's audience.

This trope became extremely popular in ComicBooks as a rebellion against the SilverAge led to more than a decade of clumsy attempts to show that comics are "[[MaturityIsSeriousBusiness not kid stuff anymore]]." See BronzeAge, DarkAge, and NinetiesAntiHero for more details about how this worked.

A ToneShift that seeks to make a work of fiction "more adult". Usually, this is interpreted as "add more {{sex|IsCool}}, [[ClusterFBomb profanity]], [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence violence]], and controversial content".

A show will attempt to shift towards [[SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness seriousness]], [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism cynicism]] and [[SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty grit]]. In theory, archetypes which we are usually accustomed to acting in a more noble setting will have to act in one where they must think and act grimly in order to make progress, [[{{Deconstruction}} thus forcing re-examination of the tropes involved]] and making a different sort of character. In practice, writers often are too lazy to make use of what most of those words mean, and ending up randomly "spicing up" a work with gratuitous gore, cursing, and sex.

When a show uses this trope as a tagline, expect [[FinaglesLaw anything that can go wrong will go wrong]]: the setting to be a WorldHalfEmpty, [[BlackAndGrayMorality everyone to be bastards]], [[DeusAngstMachina lots of unpleasant things happen to the characters]] or [[{{Wangst}} backstories giving the characters a particular issue they can spend time angsting about]].

As we can expect, this is fairly easy to screw up and poor use of these tropes can just result in DarknessInducedAudienceApathy and {{Narm}} instead.

This trope became popular in ComicBooks as a rebellion against the SilverAge led to more than a decade of clumsy attempts to show that comics are Darker And Edgier, and thus "[[MaturityIsSeriousBusiness not kid stuff anymore]]." See BronzeAge, DarkAge, and NinetiesAntiHero for more details about how this worked.

Also mocked as "Grimdark" (one word), derived from the tagline of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. ("In the grim darkness of the far future, there is ''only war.''") [[note]] "Grimdark" has also been been used for when the DarkerAndEdgier goes from merely excessive to outright ''stupid'', without a hint of self-awareness -- although some prefer to differentiate this kind by a different term, like "Grimderp" or "Shitdark".[[/note]] Sometimes justified with the phrase "SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids"[[note]]Ironically, many are starting to see both tropes as something only kids, namely 12 year olds, like and think.[[/note]]. Usually shows up in DarkFic.

Darker And Edgier is rapidly joining HilarityEnsues as one of the most [[DeadHorseTrope beaten-to-death]] marketing slogans. If a pre-existing show undergoes a {{Retool}} under the guise of making things Darker And Edgier, expect JumpingTheShark, especially if there was ExecutiveMeddling involved. This tends to go better if the change was planned in storyboarding stages to keep the tone from shifting too abruptly.

Opposite of LighterAndSofter. Parallel to BloodierAndGorier, HotterAndSexier, YoungerAndHipper, and DenserAndWackier. Often a by-product of the franchise growing [[SequelEscalation bigger and more epic]].

Compare {{Grimmification}}, AmericanKirbyIsHardcore, ObligatorySwearing, RealIsBrown, FracturedFairyTale, SugarApocalypse, and CerebusSyndrome.

Note that [[TropesAreTools Tropes Are Not Bad]], even one misused as often as this one. Please refrain from [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike Complaining About]] {{Tone Shift}}s [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike You Don't Like]].

[[Film/ThisIsSpinalTap It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.]]

->"''The success of books like ''Spawn'' lead publishers to believe that kids wanted dark anti-heroes. This lead to the creation of some of the worst comic book characters in the history of the world. Not only that but existing characters were retooled to be darker and more mysterious. For God's sake, they gave Superman a black suit and I think for a few years Captain America's shield drank human blood.''"
-->-- ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' on [[http://penny-arcade.com/2004/12/03/ this phenomenon]].

Also mocked as "Grimdark" (one word), derived from the tagline of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. ("In the grim darkness of the far future, there is ''only war.''") [[note]] "Grimdark" has also been been used for when the DarkerAndEdgier goes from merely excessive to outright ''stupid'' and un-selfaware -- although some prefer to differentiate this kind by a different term, like "Grimderp" or "Shitdark".[[/note]] Sometimes justified with the phrase "SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids"[[note]] Ironically, many are starting to see both tropes as something only kids, namely 12 year olds, like and think.[[/note]] . Usually shows up in DarkFic.

Also mocked as "Grimdark" (one word), derived from the tagline of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. ("In the grim darkness of the far future, there is ''only war.''") [[note]] "Grimdark" has also been been used for when the DarkerAndEdgier goes from merely unnecessary to outright ''stupid'' and unaware of its own potential absurdity -- although some prefer to differentiate this kind by a different term, like "Grimderp" or "Shitdark".[[/note]] Sometimes justified with the phrase "SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids"[[note]] Ironically, many are starting to see both tropes as something only kids, namely 12 year olds, like and think.[[/note]] . Usually shows up in DarkFic.

Note that [[TropesAreTools Tropes Are Not Bad]], even one misused as often as this one. Please refrain from [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike Complaining About]] {{Tone Shift}}s [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike You Don't Like]].

-> ''You look around these days...it's all different. It's all changed. The Joker's ''killing'' people, for Christ's sake! Did I miss something? Was I away when they changed the rules?''
-->-- '''The Riddler''', "When Is A Door"

->''"Boy, ''Toy Story'' got really dark, didn't it? I mean it's like 'You've got a friend in m- [[KillItWithFire BURN ALIVE! BURN UNTIL YOU ROT IN HELL!]]'"''
-->--'''[[WebVideo/BumReviews Chester A Bum]]''' reviewing ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3''

Also mocked as "Grimdark" (one word), derived from the tagline of ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}''. ("In the grim darkness of the far future, there is ''only war.''") [[note]] "Grimdark" has also been been used for when the DarkerAndEdgier goes from merely unnecessary to outright ''stupid'' and unaware of its own potential absurdity -- although some prefer to differentiate this kind by a different term, like "Grimderp" or "Shitdark".[[/note]] Sometimes justified with the phrase "SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids"[[note]] Ironically, many are starting to see both tropes as something only kids, namely 14 year olds, like and think.[[/note]] . Usually shows up in DarkFic.

Note that TropesAreNotBad, even one misused as often as this one. Please refrain from [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike Complaining About]] {{Tone Shift}}s [[ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike You Don't Like]].

[[ThisIsSpinalTap It's like, how much more black could this be? And the answer is none. None more black.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier/ProWrestling

A ToneShift that seeks to make a work of fiction "more adult". Usually, this is interpreted as "add more {{sex|IsCool}}, [[ClusterFBomb profanity]], [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence heavy violence]], and controversial content".

A ToneShift that seeks to make a work of fiction "more adult". Usually, this is practically interpreted as "add more {{sex|IsCool}}, [[ClusterFBomb profanity]], [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence heavy violence]], and controversial content".

This trope usually means that a show will attempt to shift towards [[SlidingScaleOfSillinessVersusSeriousness seriousness]], [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism cynicism]] and [[SlidingScaleOfShinyVersusGritty grit]]. In theory, archetypes which we are usually accustomed to acting in a more noble setting will have to act in one where they must think and act grimly in order to make progress, [[{{Deconstruction}} thus forcing re-examination of the tropes involved]] and making a different sort of character. In practice, though, writers often are too lazy to make use of what most of those words mean, and ending up randomly "spicing up" a work with gratuitous gore, cursing, and sex.

When a show uses this trope as a tagline, expect [[FinaglesLaw anything that can go wrong will go wrong]], the setting to be a WorldHalfEmpty, [[BlackAndGrayMorality everyone to be bastards]], [[DeusAngstMachina lots of unpleasant things happen to the characters]] or [[{{Wangst}} backstories giving the characters a particular issue they can spend time angsting about]].

Note that this is not the same as a {{Deconstruction}}. A Deconstruction plays out the genre's conventions to their logical conclusions in order to criticize the initial genre conventions. This does not have to be dark (see for instance DeconstructiveParody) and it doesn't prevent things from turning out well. Darker And Edgier just adds "dark" elements to try and get the same effect. Sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. Often times, though, a Deconstruction can cause a work to ''seem'' darker, simply because it's calling attention to dark aspects already implied but previously glossed over; see also AscendedFridgeHorror.