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Freak-Out: Difference between revisions
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{{quote|''"All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy." ''|'''[[The Joker]]''', ''[[The Killing Joke]]''}}
When a character is [[Not Himself]], but for real, and (usually) permanently. In the course of a single episode, the character goes through something traumatic enough to change their personality forever (even Freak-Outs that are temporary have lasting effects on a character). It could be a [[Mind Rape]] or a really [[Awful Truth]], but it has to be pretty nasty. Sometimes a [[Freak-Out]] is foreshadowed episodes in advance, but usually it just comes out of the blue.
A well-done [[Freak-Out]] makes the [[Wham! Episode|audience freak out as well]], and provides more [[Character Development]] than an entire season could in the same. Sadly this is rare -- all too often, it is used as a desperate gimmick to "re-vitalize" a show. Viewers should beware if a [[Freak-Out]] comes due to [[Executive Meddling]], if it comes after several seasons, if it makes the character [[Darker and Edgier]], or [[Hotter and Sexier|if it makes the character hornier]]. If all four happen at once, chances are high that the show is [[Jumping the Shark]].
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* Sasuke in ''[[Naruto]]'' has a massive one after finding out that Itachi killed their parents among many others, as well as when he gets put under [[Mind Rape]]. Arguably experienced a very controlled version when {{spoiler|Madara revealed the cause of the Uchiha massacre, leading to Sasuke's [[Kill'Em All|new life goal]]}}.
** Gaara suffered this twice in his life. The first time was when {{spoiler|Yashimaru crushed all of Gaara's hopes and tried to kill him}} resulting in the homicidal maniac we all have vivid nightmares about. The second was when he saw his own blood after Sasuke injured him.
** Naruto had one when he thought Sasuke had been killed by Haku, and an even worse one when he saw {{spoiler|Pain, the man who had murdered his beloved mentor and blown up his village, stab Hinata with a giant spike just after she confessed her feelings}}. The [[Freak-Out]] was of such proportions that it allowed him to skip immediately to [[Super-Powered Evil Side|the six-tail form]] and left his will to continue so battered he nearly knowingly released the Kyuubi.
*** And before that, he'd gone into his four-tailed form when Orochimaru goaded him to breaking point.
* ''[[Black Cat (manga)|Black Cat]]'': Creed. Any time that Train is involved or even mentioned, or if someone [[Murder the Hypotenuse|gets in the way]].
* ''[[Outlaw Star]]'': Being shot in the shoulder by Gene, sends Harry over the edge, well even more so than before. Also, [[Love Makes You Crazy|anything involving Melfina]] has this affect on him as well.
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* ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]'' suggests that Russia became [[Cute and Psycho]] after Bloody Sunday. Fandom speculation is that the execution of the Romanov dynasty is what drove him completely over the edge.
* In a flashback of ''Muhyo and Roji'', Enchu is introduced as working hard to become an Executor to support his sick mother. He is called away when his mother's condition turns critical, and while he is away, she dies and Muhyo is chosen as Executor over him. In another flashback, this happens to a mother when her daughter dies in a car accident; she becomes obsessed with making copies of the doll that her daughter had wanted.
* In ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]'', Sensui has one in the past {{spoiler|after finding out about humans torturing demons, which challenged his belief that demons were evil and that he should protect humanity from them}}.
* In ''[[Black Lagoon]]'', Roberta is a [[Dojikko|clumsy]] [[Meido|maid]] by profession, but actually a retired FARC guerrilla with extensive knowledge in weaponry, combat tactics, and [[Implacable Man|near inhuman physical abilities]]. And she admires her employer very much. So when said employer dies thanks to [[Eagle Land|certain country]] operatives, she ''[[Beware the Nice Ones|snaps]]''.... And when she snaps, [[Ax Crazy|she]] ''[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|really]] [[One-Man Army|snaps.]]''
* Hitomi from ''[[Vision of Escaflowne]]'' has a few. Although they mostly occur after simple Tarot readings turn into [[Mind Rape]].
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* In ''[[Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle]]'', {{spoiler|c!Syaoran suffers one of these when he kills c!Sakura. This also when [[Heel Face Turn|he (re)gained his own heart]].}} Don't think so? the evidence is [http://www.onemanga.com/Tsubasa_Reservoir_Chronicles/179/12/ right] [http://www.onemanga.com/Tsubasa_Reservoir_Chronicles/179/13/ here].
* Faust VIII from ''[[Shaman King]]'' is usually calm (being a doctor), but when Yoh Asakura calls Faust's beloved Eliza ({{spoiler|Eliza was Faust's wife who was brutally shot and killed, and now is Faust's spirit}}) a doll, he goes apeshit!
* For 21 episodes of ''[[Lucky Star|Lucky Channel]]'', [[Wide-Eyed Idealist|Minoru Shiraishi]] calmly endures the ''[[Butt Monkey|constant abuse and disrespect]]'' of his diva of a co-star, [[Hates the Job, Loves the Limelight|Akira Kogami]]. Then he gets roped into trekking two weeks through the wilderness to retrieve a fresh bottle of spring water for her, getting [[Everything's Worse with Bears|mauled by a bear]] in the process. When he returns to find himself replaced as co-star by [[Daisuke Ono]] and ''then'' has Akira throw the water back in his face for being too warm, he goes ''[[Beware the Nice Ones|completely berserk]]''. He tells off Akira, trashes the set, clobbers crew members who try to restrain him, [[Camera Abuse|attacks the cameraman]], and is last seen chasing Akira off-stage with presumably murderous intent. He eventually calms down, but in the concluding episode he is a completely different character, much less overtly cheerful and with a bitter, cynical inside.
** As aside, one can't help noting that his interactions with Akira in that last episode resemble the early phases of a [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]] plotline. The series ends before this can be explored very deeply. About damn time. For both the freakout, and the Sexual Tension.
* Darcia from ''[[Wolf's Rain]]'''s bloody self-mutilation and [[Skyward Scream]] upon coming home to find that {{spoiler|his lover, Hamona, has been murdered}}.
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* After the horrible, ''horrible'' events [[Total Eclipse of the Plot|during the Eclipse]] in ''[[Berserk]]'', and he awakens [[Asleep for Days|days later]], Guts goes through a monumental freak out that consists of [[Manly Tears|many tears]], [[Despair Event Horizon|utter despair]], bursts of rage, and finally [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|an epic]] [[This Means War|vow of revenge]] [[Redemption in the Rain|in the rain]], the point at which Guts becomes a changed man. It's too bad that his lover, Casca, [[Break the Cutie|did not come out of the Eclipse]] [[Go Mad From the Revelation|no where near as intact as Guts]] (her mentally damaged state also provoked Guts' freak out).
* ''[[Black Butler|Black Butler II]]'' episode 10. It begins with Hannah talking to Ciel and saying that she has something to show him. Then her mouth opens unnaturally wide to reveal [[Body Horror|this black abyss where the inside of a human mouth would be]]. The eye she stole from Alois Trancy is rooted in the back of her throat, and since Ciel's soul has been partially fused with Alois's at this point, he's staring at himself from inside her. Hannah watches calmly while Ciel suffers a [[Freak-Out|severe nervous breakdown]] and screams before falling unconscious.
* In ''[[Deadman Wonderland]]'' Ganta does this understandably as he's being forced to watch the Carnival of Corpses.
* ''[[Black Rock Shooter]]'': Yomi Takanashi, over two episodes of the 2012 anime, goes from a [[Shrinking Violet|sweet girl]] into having one of the most [[Yandere (disambiguation)|devastatingly epic psychological breaks]] in anime history. {{spoiler|In the aftermath, though she mostly recovers, the damage was so severe that she completely forgot her best friend even existed.}}
* In ''[[Bleach]]'' Rukia does this after Gin [[Kick the Dog|breaks her resolve with words]].
* ''[[Pandora Hearts]]'': Leo's reaction to {{spoiler|Elliot's death}} had a lot of sobbing and screaming. He went on with this as Pandora was interrogating him until Vincent came along.
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== [[Comic Books]] ==
* [[Batman|The Joker]] is a firm believer in this trope, once saying that all it takes to separate the sane from maniacs such as himself is "one bad day." ''The Killing Joke'' storyline features him trying to give Commissioner Gordon his Bad Day.
** Ironically, his biggest success (Harley Quinn) was apparently a [[Hannibal Lecture|fairly meticulous process of chiseling away at her sanity and sense of self-worth]].
* ''[[Batman]]'' is '''the''' poster comic of [[Freak-Out|Freak Outs]], with most Rogues' minds breaking at some point, [[Start of Darkness|creating the other selves]] which drive Batman's duality theme close to home.
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** Eddie, haven't you ever considered just ''suing'' the people that stole your inventions instead of proving you're smarter?
** Mary, have you ever considered voice acting?
** Batman himself, don't shoot a child's parents in front of him or he'll grow up to become...well...Batman.
* When ''[[Green Lantern]]'' Hal Jordan suddenly lost his marbles and became the universe-destroying maniac Parallax in the 1990's, after his home city was destroyed by a [[Super Villain]]. Years later, it was later [[Retcon|retconned]] that Hal was merely possessed by a giant yellow [[Eldritch Abomination|ancient]] [[Anthropomorphic Personification|embodiment-of-fear]] bug monster, and not evil after all. Um, sure, okay.
* Hank Pym, of [[The Avengers (Comic Book)|the Avengers]], had a period where he thought he was someone else, and apparently went full on mad scientist, to the point of setting killer robots on a major city just so he could destroy them to look good. He eventually recovered, and how much this gets played up depends on the writer. Some have him as having become fairly well adjusted, others have him just a medication bottle away from another psychotic episode. And then there's ''Secret Invasion''.
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*** {{spoiler|Unless the last thing you want to hear before before being deprived of your epidermis is "Bored Now".}}
** After the accidental killing of the deputy mayor, Faith reacts by becoming simply and utterly psychotically monsterous. After something of a reformation, she does it again after the death of her father figure. The second (and possibly the first) time is because she is attempting [[Suicide by Cop|suicide by whomever she can anger enough into killing her.]]
** Exemplified by {{spoiler|Dark Willow}}. When {{spoiler|Tara}} is gunned down in cold blood, {{spoiler|Willow}} utterly loses it and in the space of the next 24 hours or so manages to kill Sunnydale's most powerful magic user, smack down the combined powers of the UK's strongest wiccans, effortlessly murder the season's Big Bad up to that point, beat the stuffing out of {{spoiler|the Slayer}}, and nearly blow up the world.
* Manny on ''[[Degrassi the Next Generation]]'' started out as a [[Kawaiiko|cute, giggly girl]] who acted about half her real age. In a single episode, she finally realized that people didn't take her seriously -- and instantly transformed into a manipulative, sex-crazed attention hogger. She got worse.
* In ''[[Doctor Who]]'', the Doctor, during the transition from his Tenth to Eleventh incarnation was extremely reluctant and panicked when undergoing the regeneration process. The eventual energy release blew apart portions of the TARDIS bridge.
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== [[Music]] ==
* "Freak Out!" (1966) is the name of [[Frank Zappa]]'s debut album. And it lives up to its name during "Help, I'm A Rock", "It Can't Happen Here", and "The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet".
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* Happened to all the serial killers in ''[[Kara no Shoujo]].'' The most sympathetic of the three described involved rape, parental incest, involuntary manslaughter on their part and [[Mad Artist|a beautiful work of art about their mother.]]
* A ''lot'' of witnesses in [[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]] most likely the final villain, give EPIC breakdowns when you start [[Pull the Thread|pulling the thread]] and back them into a corner, usually backed up with [[Crowning Music of Awesome]].
* ''[[Deadly Premonition]]'': {{spoiler|Thomas}}. [[Break the Cutie|It]] [[Et Tu, Brute?|just]] [[Go Mad From the Revelation|wasn't]] [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness|his]] [[The Scapegoat|week]].
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** Rose has two within a very short time-frame: first after she found out {{spoiler|Jack killed her mother}}, and the second when {{spoiler|she asked an omniscient fortune-telling device whether or not the [[Eldritch Abomination|Gods of the Furthest Ring]] were evil. The answer appears to have turned her into a [[Humanoid Abomination]].}}
** You can tell when a First Guardian goes through one of these: their text becomes huge and crackles with energy. Examples: [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=004163 Doc Scratch] and {{spoiler|1=[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=005117 Jadesprite]}}.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
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* Kenai does this in ''[[Brother Bear]]'' when he realizes he turned into a bear.
* Being a failed science experiment with more mental issues than even the most skilled therapist could count, ''[[Adventure Time]]'''s Lemongrab is CONSTANTLY in the midst of a freak-out.
* Fry from ''[[Futurama]]'' suffers a [[Freak-Out]] after being erroneously sent to an insane asylum for ''robots''. Obviously, the staff (all robots) don't notice this simple detail, and continue to treat him as such. He would be released weeks later when he, as described by the doctor, "no longer suffers delusions of humanity."
* [[The Simpsons]]: Hurricane Ned.
{{quote|'''Ned''': Calm down, Neddly diddily diddily diddily, doodily. They did their best shodaiddily iddily iddily diddily diddily. Gotta be nice, hostidididildilidilly ah HELL diddily ding dong ''crap!'' Can't you morons do anything RIGHT!?
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* In [[The Batman]], Officer Bennet suffers a [[Freak-Out]] when he gets captured and mentally tortured by the Joker, followed by getting exposed to chemicals that turn his body into morphable clay. After spending two seasons as the good friend of main character Bruce Wayne, Bennet becomes the villain Clayface after the two-part season finale that focuses around this event.
* Daffy Duck's [[Freak-Out]] in [[Duck Amuck]] is the stuff of legends.
* ''[[The Ren and Stimpy Show]]''
** Ren is prone to these.
** Stimpy's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX672lZzZ6U "I Like Darren!" rant] from "Mad Dog Höek". Especially towards the end, where he's screaming his lines out like a madman, his voice has an echo effect, and the music is all crazy.
{{quote|'''Stimpy:''' '''''[[Punctuated!
* Happens to Twilight Sparkle in the ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' episode [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S2 E3 Lesson Zero|"Lesson Zero"]]. When she realizes she doesn't have a weekly friendship lesson to present to Princess Celestia, she [[Sanity Slippage|grows increasingly crazy]] trying to find one, culminating in a fully-loaded Freak Out the likes of which have never been seen on the show before (which is saying something, given the show's other examples).
** [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S1 E26 The Best Night Ever|"The Best Night Ever"]]: Fluttershy tries to befriend the animals in the Canterlot gardens, but when they keep avoiding her she starts becoming frustrated just to get her hooves at them, and it all climaxes with her shouting [[Punctuated!
** In [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S1 E25 Party of One|"Party of One"]], Pinkie Pie gets it into her head that her friends don't like her parties any more, so she starts throwing parties with her new friends - a bag of flour, a bucket of turnips, a pile of rocks, and a collection of lint - all of which she's named and given voices. Then she starts imagining they really ''are'' talking to her...
** These freak outs have been classified by fanon as "Cutie-Mark Failure Insanity Syndrome" a condition that causes ponies to lose control and over-react to situations that cause them to doubt the purpose in life they found when they received their cutie-mark.
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