Mangst

There are several variant forms of Angst. There is Wangst, the angst of whiners. There is Angst? What Angst?, which is angst that is barely felt by heroes. Then there is Mangst, the angst of stoics.

A man who feels Mangst is the kind of guy who carries around a picture of the wife and child, both of whom were killed by the villain. Every once in a while he picks up that picture..... when no one is looking... and stares at it for a couple of hours. He never talks to other people about his private pain because several things keep him closed up about it. First, he's not the kind of guy to get all weepy (unless you count the occasional bout of Manly Tears). Second, he's not the kind of person who loads his problems on other people.

Mangst usually involves a man trying to fix his problem, right the wrong, prevent his tragedy from occurring to someone else, seek revenge, etc. If he's not doing any of those things, it's because something's holding him back. He may have an inner monologue, during which the source of his Mangst gets a regular mention. However, to mitigate potential Angst Dissonance, the character's monologue often is deceptively calm or metaphorical.

One of the things that turns basic Angst into Mangst is the source of the character's pain. When That One Case involved someone dying (especially if it was an innocent kid), the hero will most likely end up Mangsting. Having one's wife or girlfriend horribly killed is the most common cause of Mangst. Guilt over some past misdeed, or from failing to stop someone else's past misdeed, can also be a cause.

You don't see many women Mangsting, though it does happen, as many female mangsters are more likely to be Broken Birds who ultimately break down crying and need to be comforted before all is said and done. Although, with more modern depictions, women are just as likely as men to suffer horrible tragedies, yet have the fortitude (or unhealthy coping mechanisms) to bear their burdens in silence.

Compare Manly Tears, which a Mangster occasionally engages in, but only in private. Often accompanied by Past Experience Nightmares or Drowning My Sorrows. Very often the fuel which powers a Roaring Rampage of Revenge. Mangst is generally the cause of a Mook Horror Show. Often combined with Best Served Cold — though just as often it's combined with Best Served Steaming Hot With Lots Of Screaming.

Often derogatively referred to as "man pain" outside of this wiki, because many examples of Mangst, primarily those which use Stuffed in the Fridge as a motivation, veer into Angst Dissonance territory for female viewers.

Not to be understood as a Tropemanteau of "Manga and Angst"; the end result of that would be something like "Mangangst".

Examples