History Main / Melodrama

-->-- '''Creator/QuentinTarantino''' on Creator/DouglasSirk melodramas.

* The works of Creator/LeijiMatsumoto have melodrama written all over them. ''Anime/CaptainHarlock'' focuses on the struggles of an isolated SpacePirate who, despite his efforts not to, has an attachment to the people he's met on Earth (and vice versa), ''Anime/{{Starzinger}}'' is about the unlikely friendship between a beautiful Princess and three of the most violent cyborgs of the galaxy as they try to put an end to the potential death of the universe, and so on.
* Creator/TadaoNagahama's works are infamous for this, so much that in Japan and the West they have the nickname "romance"[[note]]As in, ''romanticsm'', not the love story type of romance[[/note]] - for example, his mecha anime works are known as the Anime/RobotRomanceTrilogy. Nagahama worked in theater before becoming an anime director and carried the dramatic tone with him to his animated works regardless of genre. In the West, you most likely know him as the director of the first half of the ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles'' anime.

** ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'' is the tale of an AlienPrincess who falls for a human boy...while their planets are at war and he leads the main resistance by preventing the alien's attacks with his SuperRobot. Both face scrutiny, abuse and humiliation for their romance, are called traitors and even face jail (in his case) and ({{execution}} in her case - don't worry, she escapes). However, their love perserveres through it all, and they never stop searching for solutions to the conflict- and even their biggest in-universe detractors are left in shock by the power of their love. That's not even getting to the touchy politics of the alien empire, which is rife with betrayal and conflicting loyalty here and there.
* ''Anime/IsabelleOfParis'' focuses on the upcoming war in (and outside of) 1880s France, but Isabelle also angsts over her sister having it all while she's the [[AlwaysSecondBest "ugly duckling"]], the unrequited love triangle between her sister, the commoner Jules and the French army captain and [[spoiler: the [[IHaveNoSon parental disavowment]] faced by both siblings from their esteemed father.]]
* ''Anime/GoLion''/''Anime/{{Voltron}}'', despite being a mecha anime, counts. The politics of the Galra Empire and the AwfulTruth behind their ties to the Alteans, Princess Fala overcoming the stigma of women in battle and the [[NeverSayDie dea]]- err, [[{{Bowdlerise}} disappearances]] of many of the friends and allies the team, who risk their life against the fascist empire and uncover more secrets about them.
* ''Anime/FlameOfTheAlpenRose'' is a war melodrama in an anime trenchcoat. This {{shojo}} series takes place in UsefulNotes/WW2 Switzerland, focusing on an amesiac girl who's relentlessly pursued by a [[PaedoHunt Nazi]]. No one knows why, and no matter what she does, he's desperate to have her in his clutches. Her heart already belongs to the kind little boy who rescued her after she fell out of the plane, Lundi, and together they join LaResistance in spite of their tender ages.

* ''Anime/HelloSandybell''[='=]s main characters all have complicated interpersonal relationships that build off melodrama. Sandybell likes Mark, but she's also very attached to his mother despite meeting her briefly, because she grew up without one herself and sees a ParentalSubstitute in her. Mark likes her back, but because he's the son of the [[BlueBlood Wellington]] family, he's forced into an ArrangedMarriage with Kitty. Kitty has always hated Sandybell and is elated at marrying Mark, but he doesn't want to marry her and flees from Scotland after his parents die, trying to pursue his dream. Sandybell is broken by this, especially as her father dies around the same time, and sets off on her own adventure after moving to London, believing she can find her mother. Her free-spiritedness and refusal to abandon hope drives most of the show.

* ''Anime/IdolDensetsuEriko'' is about a young girl training to be an idol after her parents die, but her only living relative refuses to let this happen because's he despised her father. He does everything he can to stop her from reaching her dream. And even without that, she breaks as an idol, having to juggle suicidal fans, a school life that isn't compatible with the idol lifestyle, and her running away from home.

** ''Anime/VoltesV'': The anime has this on both the heroes and villain's sides. It begins with the ParentalAbandonment of the three Gō brothers, Kenichi, Daijiro and Hiyoshi, who have no idea why their dad left and desperately want to see him again. Amidst an AlienInvasion by the distant Planet Boazania, they find out that there's a possibility he's alive and they can save him. Whereas the ConqueringAlienPrince of Boazania, a SourOutsideSadInside soul with a fractured sense of honour, finds out that his court isn't as loyal and the Emperor, his own uncle, doesn't trust him...but why?

** It's believed that this was done deliberately with the anime ''Anime/PrincessSarah'', since WMT's previous works failed to reach critical success, and they wanted to WinBackTheCrowd. Sarah is made meeker, her bullies are made haughtier, [[spoiler: and in an extremelt controversial decision, she forgives them in the end, in spite of all the abuse they heaped on her after her family lost their wealth.]]

** ''Manga/CandyCandy'' is about the OrphansOrdeal of a little girl, her two, cruel siblings, and life in pre-UsefulNotes/WW1 USA. Throughout her life, she's trampled on and left behind many times by the people she should be able to trust the most - but she refuses to break and decides to be a RebelliousPrincess and find her own happiness.
** ''Manga/{{Lady}}'' is a {{shoujo}} series that portrays melodrama from the point of view of five year old Lynn Russell, a half-Japanese girl living in Britain as a noblewoman, kept in the dark about the fact that her mother was killed off in a car accident and her grandfather refuses to look at her for being mixed-race. Lynn only finds out because her father's [[WickedStepmother potential new wife]], and her two children rub it in her face. Lynn continues to face maltreatment from them [[spoiler: and upon hearing that her father may married the aforementioned woman, she's so disgusted she tries to flee back to Japan because she doesn't want her newfound older sister to suffer at her hands, and it takes a lot of convincing for her to stay and the marriage to break off. And the tragedy doesn't even end there, as the woman's daughter is angry about the rejection and schemes to get revenge on the Russells. There's a reason that this series has many sequel manga and a second series[[note]]''Hello! Lady Lynn'', which is sometimes referred to as the second season of the first anime series, ''Lady Lady''[[/note]] that had nothing to do with the manga - there's just so much material to choose from...]]

** ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'' is the tale of an AlienPrincess who falls for a human boy...while their planets are at war and he leads the main resistance by preventing the alien's attacks with his SuperRobot. Both face scrutiny, abuse and humiliation for their romance, are called traitors and even face jail (in his case) and ({{execution}} in her case - don't worry, she escapes). However, their love perserveres through it all, and they never stop searching for solutions to the conflict- and even their biggest detractors are left in shock by the power of their love.
* ''Anime/IsabelleOfParis'' focuses on the upcoming war in (and outside of) 1880s France, but Isabelle also angsts over her sister having it all while she's the [[AlwaysSecondBest "ugly duckling"]], the unrequited love triangle between her sister, the commoner Jules and the French army captain and the parental disavowment faced by both siblings from their esteemed father.

* The anime version of ''[[Anime/HeidiGirlOfTheAlps Heidi]]'' falls easily into this.

%%** ''Manga/CandyCandy''.

%%* The works of Creator/LeijiMatsumoto have melodrama written all over them.

* Many silent movies were melodramas by necessity, as they couldn't rely on spoken dialogue to convey emotion. Creator/DWGriffith was a master of the art, and his epic films (''Film/{{The Birth of a Nation|1915}}'', ''Film/WayDownEast'', etc.) were pure melodrama.
** But, as with all things, there are exceptions. Part of the trouble is which films and performances have survived and remained well-known, which were often the most popular/successful ones of the time. And let's face it, melodrama ''sells''.
** A lot of silent movie conventions appear in ''Film/{{Dracula 1931}}'', to the point that no non-diegetic music appears. Gestures and dialogue are exaggerated, and a close-up of Dracula's DeathGlare repeats to the point of RunningGag.

** There was one, called ''Her Married Lover'', which is actually a {{Deconstruction}} of those melodramatic movies.

** Creator/DouglasSirk is widely understood to "own" the genre, as his best-known films are 1950s Hollywood melodramas with titles such as ''Film/AllThatHeavenAllows'', ''Film/MagnificentObsession'', ''Film/WrittenOnTheWind'', and ''Film/{{Imitation of Life|1959}}''. Many of them are [[VindicatedByHistory retroactively]] considered to be [[StealthParody Stealth Parodies]] and sly critiques of American society. These films were major commercial successes of the era and inspired the likes of Creator/RainerWernerFassbinder, Creator/ToddHaynes and Creator/JohnWaters, among many others.

** Creator/DouglasSirk is understood to "own" the genre as his best-known films are 1950s Hollywood melodramas, featuring titles such as ''Film/AllThatHeavenAllows'', ''Film/MagnificentObsession'', ''Written on the Wind'', and ''Imitation of Life.'' Many of them are [[VindicatedByHistory retroactively]] considered [[StealthParody Stealth Parodies]] and sly critiques of American society. These films were major commercial successes of the era and inspired the likes of Creator/RainerWernerFassbinder, Creator/ToddHaynes and Creator/JohnWaters among many others.

A type of theater, film, and television that focuses on heightening the emotions of the audience. The word "melodrama" derives from "melody [in] drama" (like opera); melodrama at its finest aspires to have the tone and the repetitive waves of building emotion of an {{opera}} or a [[ClassicalMusic symphony]]. In melodrama, the plot is sensationalized and emotional and the dialogue is bombastic and sentimental. Characters tend to be thinly sketched, flat {{Stock Character}}s (the hero or heroine might face problems from a "[[TheVamp homewrecking temptress]]" or an [[AristocratsAreEvil aristocratic villain]]). Melodramas are often accomplished by dramatic, emotional music.

* ''Film/TheRoom'': Johnny would like you to know that "[[MemeticMutation you are TEARING me APART, Lisa]]!" It's amazing how much drama Tommy Wiseau attempts to put into the minimal amount of things that actually happen.

** The second anime adaptation, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood also fits the bill, partly because of its bombastic orchestral score, especially during emotional, scary or action-heavy scenes, and it's bigger emphasis on spectacle.

** The second anime adaptation, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood also fits the bill, especially because of its bombastic orchestral score,especially during emotional, scary or action-heavy scenes, and it's bigger emphasis on spectacle.