Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Serenity (Manga)

 Serenity (Manga)
type
TVTItem
 Serenity (Manga)
label
Serenity (Manga)
 Serenity (Manga)
page
Serenity
 Serenity (Manga)
comment
Serenity is an OEL Manga written by Buzz Dixon (yes, that Buzz Dixon) and drawn by Min Kwon, at least until the artist change. It depicts the adventures of a teenager named Serenity Harper who, underneath her scrappy and obnoxious exterior, is a girl who only wants to be loved and accepted. After transferring to a new school, she draws the notice of the school's Christian prayer club, who decides to help her find her place whether she wants it or not. The manga chronicles Serenity's ensuing dilemmas as she tries to find peace and meaning in her life through Christianity.The manga ran for ten volumes and concluded in 2008. however, Dixon did occasionally post dialog comics featuring the cast on his blog and isn't entirely done with their stories.The characters include: Serenity, the main character, who comes from a broken home and troubled past. While the manga doesn't show her doing these things, she has used drugs and has participated in premarital sex in the past. Derek, de facto leader of the prayer group and Kimberly's boyfriend. Kimberly, Derek's girlfriend. Often harbors negative thoughts about Serenity and has tried to outdo her once or twice since Serenity began to try and draw Derek's attention towards her. Lives with a strict pastor father who also heads the prayer club, so you know where this is headed. Sally, the youngest member of the group. Her mom is disabled and it's shown that she prays to God to help her mom heal. Constantly makes dreadful jokes. Lori, who is often Serenity's go-to girl for the deeper religious questions. Tim, the big guy. He is passionate about making movies and also serves as the DJ during a rave the characters attend. It is mentioned once that he stays busy so he has an excuse not to date and be lonely, and the plot point is never resolved. Eddie, the kid who kinda blends into the background. Serenity forces him to take her to the movies at one point in an attempt to make Derek jealous. It doesn't work.The manga has gained some notoriety on 4chan, where it was hated by Anonymous for portraying the prayer group as a bunch of creeps who claim to love Serenity but not like her, for giving Serenity a massive stroke of bad luck as if God Himself is out to get her, and for overall lazy artwork and writing. Normal 4chan reactions, to be sure... until Christians also reported in to denounce the comic's backwards message. Nowadays, 4chan's /co/ board hosts a yearly re-reading of the series.Suffice it to say, Serenity's Christian subject matter is ripe for debate.Absolutely no relation to Joss Whedon's Firefly film of the same name.
 Serenity (Manga)
fetched
2023-10-16T08:30:09Z
 Serenity (Manga)
parsed
2023-10-16T08:30:09Z
 Serenity (Manga)
processingComment
Dropped link to Inuyasha: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Serenity (Manga)
processingComment
Dropped link to StarTrek: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Serenity (Manga)
processingComment
Dropped link to TheSimpsons: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Serenity (Manga)
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Serenity (Manga) / int_16e94b0a
type
Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll
 Serenity (Manga) / int_16e94b0a
comment
Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll: Before finding faith, Serenity's life consisted of going out, taking drugs, and getting into trouble. She's also a huge fan of punk and rock groups, and very pointedly throws out all her merchandise when she wants to turn over a new leaf in Volume 10. Even when she's convinced to keep some of her eccentricities, she doesn't turn back to rock.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_16e94b0a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_16e94b0a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_16e94b0a
 Serenity (Manga) / int_17cdacd6
type
Shy Blue-Haired Girl
 Serenity (Manga) / int_17cdacd6
comment
Shy Blue-Haired Girl: Serenity is definitely shy and smart enough to find questions and holes in things the other characters can't or wont even explain, but her aggressiveness sometimes subverts this.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_17cdacd6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_17cdacd6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_17cdacd6
 Serenity (Manga) / int_1f42c032
type
Good Costume Switch
 Serenity (Manga) / int_1f42c032
comment
Good Costume Switch: After deciding to devote her life entirely to God, Serenity dyes her hair a normal brown and starts wearing a long, conservative dress. Ultimately subverted when it is hammered home that the changes that caused her to adopt this outfit were in some ways as bad for her as her old lifestyle. She switches back to her old costume style in the end, but keeps God and her changes for the better.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_1f42c032
featureApplicability
-0.3
 Serenity (Manga) / int_1f42c032
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_1f42c032
 Serenity (Manga) / int_20989d05
type
Parents as People
 Serenity (Manga) / int_20989d05
comment
Parents as People: Serenity's mother gets more focus than any of the other parents in this series. She may be an overworked, weed-smoking and sometimes overbearing mother, but she genuinely does care for Serenity and doesn't know how to help her or if she should help her. Over the course of the manga she and her daughter come to some sort of understanding.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_20989d05
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_20989d05
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_20989d05
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2110d8ac
type
Egg Sitting
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2110d8ac
comment
Egg Sitting: One time, Serenity and her class are made to do an egg sitting assignment, with Serenity herself going solo. The story never gets to spend time on the assignment, given Serenity vehemently denies ever doing so, but things take a turn for the dark when she has to care for a real baby she discovered abandoned in a dumpster.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2110d8ac
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2110d8ac
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_2110d8ac
 Serenity (Manga) / int_22a27b19
type
Alpha Bitch
 Serenity (Manga) / int_22a27b19
comment
Alpha Bitch: Kimberly.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_22a27b19
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_22a27b19
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_22a27b19
 Serenity (Manga) / int_23ff95fb
type
Brutal Honesty
 Serenity (Manga) / int_23ff95fb
comment
Brutal Honesty: Lori's telling Serenity that her group "loves her but does not like her" directly wasn't a really good idea.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_23ff95fb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_23ff95fb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_23ff95fb
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2764d432
type
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2764d432
comment
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: The entire Prayer Club really but special mentions go to Kimberly, who keeps an eye out for Serenity at all times; and Sally, the youngest member of the group who specializes in bad puns and blackmail.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2764d432
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2764d432
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_2764d432
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2937826d
type
Hurricane of Puns
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2937826d
comment
Hurricane of Puns: Sally never lets up on these. Ever.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2937826d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2937826d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_2937826d
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2a015a74
type
Beauty Equals Goodness
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2a015a74
comment
Beauty Equals Goodness: The ugliest characters in the comic are Serenity's mother (who was a hippie in her youth and may or may not be Pagan), and Mrs. Baxter, the Hollywood Atheist, while the more "attractive" characters are all either Christian, or Serenity.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2a015a74
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_2a015a74
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_2a015a74
 Serenity (Manga) / int_34dcfc96
type
Kick the Dog
 Serenity (Manga) / int_34dcfc96
comment
Kick the Dog: Mr. Grandy admits in the last volume that he's glad that Serenity was brainwashed because "somebody had to do it". To be fair, that's how Ms. Baxter put it (no surprise here), and Mr. Grandy had no idea how empty Serenity was feeling with all that radical change she was doing to herself.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_34dcfc96
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_34dcfc96
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_34dcfc96
 Serenity (Manga) / int_35a858b3
type
Cluster F-Bomb
 Serenity (Manga) / int_35a858b3
comment
Cluster F-Bomb: Serenity drops a ton of these in the first volume.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_35a858b3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_35a858b3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_35a858b3
 Serenity (Manga) / int_364b9be6
type
Flipping the Bird
 Serenity (Manga) / int_364b9be6
comment
Flipping the Bird: "Whoops! Can't show that in a Christian manga!"
 Serenity (Manga) / int_364b9be6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_364b9be6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_364b9be6
 Serenity (Manga) / int_3dcc914f
type
Took a Level in Kindness
 Serenity (Manga) / int_3dcc914f
comment
Took a Level in Kindness: Serenity starts the story as a crude, trouble-making delinquent who hides her loneliness by pushing others away. By getting roped into the Prayer Circle, she's become more mindful of her own actions and makes real efforts to reach out to others. By Volume 10, however, she's become too mindful of her own actions and takes her personality the complete opposite way.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_3dcc914f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_3dcc914f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_3dcc914f
 Serenity (Manga) / int_4ae72307
type
Be Yourself
 Serenity (Manga) / int_4ae72307
comment
Be Yourself: In volume ten, Serenity learns that changing for the better is one thing, and changing who you are is another.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_4ae72307
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_4ae72307
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_4ae72307
 Serenity (Manga) / int_59907e4f
type
Police Are Useless
 Serenity (Manga) / int_59907e4f
comment
Police Are Useless: After a police officer visits Serenity's house, Serenity's mom promptly freaks, rushes to the bathroom, and starts flushing things down the toilet. Despite this suspicious behavior, the officer never tries to find out what Serenity's mom is doing. And judging by what the manga shows us about her mother, she was probably flushing drugs.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_59907e4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_59907e4f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_59907e4f
 Serenity (Manga) / int_5c982007
type
Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs
 Serenity (Manga) / int_5c982007
comment
Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs: Serenity's breakfast food of choice is the weirdly unsubtle "Brightly Colored Sugar Junk", which looks a lot like Fruity Pebbles. Like most things she used to enjoy, Serenity gets rid of it in Volume 10.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_5c982007
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_5c982007
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_5c982007
 Serenity (Manga) / int_6627695f
type
Author Appeal
 Serenity (Manga) / int_6627695f
comment
Author Appeal: There are WAY too many close shots of Serenity's bare feet for this to be anything else.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_6627695f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_6627695f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_6627695f
 Serenity (Manga) / int_6e37c196
type
Once Done, Never Forgotten
 Serenity (Manga) / int_6e37c196
comment
Once Done, Never Forgotten: Even after the prayer club becomes friends with Serenity, they never cease reminding her of how bad she used to be. Granted, good friends can make fun of each other in a friendly way, but judging by how the prayer club used to treat her...
 Serenity (Manga) / int_6e37c196
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_6e37c196
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_6e37c196
 Serenity (Manga) / int_8387bb18
type
Good Girls Avoid Abortion
 Serenity (Manga) / int_8387bb18
comment
Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Invoked for the neighborhood "Harvest House", as one of the recurring attractions every year is a clinic with a woman dying of an abortion. In-series, while Serenity's mother does imply that she would be fine if her daughter carried the term to pregnancy or not, the story portrays her decision to keep Serenity as one of her few redeeming points.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_8387bb18
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_8387bb18
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_8387bb18
 Serenity (Manga) / int_9525c766
type
Loony Friends Improve Your Personality
 Serenity (Manga) / int_9525c766
comment
Loony Friends Improve Your Personality: Whether she likes it or not, Serenity ends up picking up some of the habits of her friends, and even finds religion. It's also inverted—officially, Serenity's presence in their lives is supposed to get them thinking about the world beyond what they've been brought up to know in their Christian communities, and they loosen up a lot while with her.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_9525c766
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_9525c766
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_9525c766
 Serenity (Manga) / int_b23e7ba9
type
Real Is Brown
 Serenity (Manga) / int_b23e7ba9
comment
Real Is Brown: Serenity's makeover in volume 10. It didn't last long, fortunately.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_b23e7ba9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_b23e7ba9
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_b23e7ba9
 Serenity (Manga) / int_b7e0c5ff
type
Love Triangle
 Serenity (Manga) / int_b7e0c5ff
comment
Love Triangle: The big one in this series is Serenity/Derek/Kimberly. Derek and Kimberly are already going out, but Serenity is smitten with him and Kimberly clearly acknowledges her as a romantic rival. Derek knows all too well both of their feelings, but decides to stay with Kimberly and work things out with her.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_b7e0c5ff
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_b7e0c5ff
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_b7e0c5ff
 Serenity (Manga) / int_ba236071
type
It Makes Sense in Context
 Serenity (Manga) / int_ba236071
comment
It Makes Sense in Context: The Purity Test chapters are mostly comprehensible, but outside of a few select questions the cast only refers to each thing they have/haven't done by its corresponding number. This makes things like Serenity and her mother's argument hard to follow (For future reference: if you would like to know what they're talking about, see here).
 Serenity (Manga) / int_ba236071
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_ba236071
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_ba236071
 Serenity (Manga) / int_bcbf7aef
type
Plucky Comic Relief
 Serenity (Manga) / int_bcbf7aef
comment
Plucky Comic Relief: Sally, whose bad puns are often the subject of Kimberly's ire or get her into trouble with her friends.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_bcbf7aef
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_bcbf7aef
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_bcbf7aef
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c289826f
type
Double Standard Rape: Female on Male
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c289826f
comment
Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: In volume 9 Eddie confesses to Serenity that his babysitter raped him when he was eleven; specifically, that she "thought it would be 'cute' if she initiated [him]", which gave him an unhealthy fascination with sex in a G-rated version of Promiscuity After Rape. The line is delivered with a look of absolute horror and leaves no doubt to the fact that it's traumatized Eddie completely. Serenity's response is to say that "EVERY guy is obsessed with sex!" and the subject is never brought up again.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c289826f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c289826f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_c289826f
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c387cc18
type
Omake
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c387cc18
comment
Omake: From volumes seven to ten, the second halves are fan films that Tim made with his friends.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c387cc18
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c387cc18
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_c387cc18
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c631f304
type
We Want Our Jerk Back!
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c631f304
comment
We Want Our Jerk Back!: In Volume 10. Not only do Serenity's two closest friends want her to return to being herself, but the readers, too. She does return.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c631f304
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c631f304
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_c631f304
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c75df49a
type
Shout-Out
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c75df49a
comment
Shout-Out: During a story featuring Eddie, he places the prayer group girls in fantasies that team them up with characters like Inuyasha and James Bond. In the same chapter, Eddie also imagines Serenity dressed as Harley Quinn. In the fan film of volume seven, Serenity gets to be a Red Shirt. This is even lampshaded. In the fan film of volume eight, three kids are dressed like Bart Simpson, Milhouse and Charlie Brown.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c75df49a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_c75df49a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_c75df49a
 Serenity (Manga) / int_d50a5478
type
Unlimited Wardrobe
 Serenity (Manga) / int_d50a5478
comment
Unlimited Wardrobe: Serenity really knows her fashion.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_d50a5478
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_d50a5478
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_d50a5478
 Serenity (Manga) / int_da46a2c0
type
Hollywood Atheist
 Serenity (Manga) / int_da46a2c0
comment
Hollywood Atheist: Ms. Baxter, one of Serenity's teachers, is so obviously a strawman for the stubborn atheist that she should wear a neon sign.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_da46a2c0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_da46a2c0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_da46a2c0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_ebe4eb97
type
Cue the Flying Pigs
 Serenity (Manga) / int_ebe4eb97
comment
Cue the Flying Pigs: In volume ten, when Serenity volunteers to lead the prayer, we see a Super-Deformed devil seeing snow.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_ebe4eb97
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_ebe4eb97
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_ebe4eb97
 Serenity (Manga) / int_edfacbac
type
Covert Pervert
 Serenity (Manga) / int_edfacbac
comment
Covert Pervert: Eddie. Lori to a lesser degree, seen when she hears Serenity talking about an urge she's been suppressing ever since she got her leg broken and her mind immediately goes to the gutter.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_edfacbac
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_edfacbac
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_edfacbac
 Serenity (Manga) / int_f288cf3
type
Innocent Innuendo
 Serenity (Manga) / int_f288cf3
comment
Innocent Innuendo: In volume six, after Serenity finally gets her cast removed from her leg, she finally gives in to her urges (rape face and all)... to scratch that itch in her leg!
 Serenity (Manga) / int_f288cf3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_f288cf3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_f288cf3
 Serenity (Manga) / int_f9439c84
type
Haunted House
 Serenity (Manga) / int_f9439c84
comment
Haunted House: One of the dialog comics has the cast try to come up with ideas for their neighborhood's yearly Harvest House, which is a comparatively sanitized Haunted House filled with mundanger rather than monsters and demons. In previous years, they had segments where kids were mourning the loss of their parents, a prostitute finding out she has AIDS, and the tragic aftermath of an abortion gone wrong. Needless to say, none of the kids are thrilled to do so and only Kimberly objects to changing the concept, if only because it's the only thing the adults will let them do.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_f9439c84
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_f9439c84
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_f9439c84
 Serenity (Manga) / int_fccd06b6
type
Beware the Nice Ones
 Serenity (Manga) / int_fccd06b6
comment
Beware the Nice Ones: After she's egged on by Serenity, Sally proves that she is a fuckin' swear master when she wants to be. She explains she learned it from her drill sergeant uncle.
 Serenity (Manga) / int_fccd06b6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_fccd06b6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_fccd06b6
 Serenity (Manga) / int_name
type
ItemName
 Serenity (Manga) / int_name
comment
 Serenity (Manga) / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 Serenity (Manga) / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 Serenity (Manga)
hasFeature
Serenity (Manga) / int_name
 Serenity (Manga) / int_name
itemName
Serenity (Manga)

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Serenity
seeAlso
Serenity (Manga)