Name That Subgenre

[Lord Raziere]

I'm dunno if "Grimbright" would be an accurate descriptor, but it sounds closer to what's being asked than "Nobledark."

The definition I see associated with Grimbright goes like this: "Grimbright settings have beautiful lush landscapes. There are flower forests, everything is magical and beautiful but everything is trying to kill you. The flower forests are probably grown on blood, and the really hot fairy queen probably commits genocide on a regular basis--and it's regularly accepted by the populace. Grimbright heroes are savage, snarky, and maybe even cruel, but they are also elegant, mischievous and clever. Bottom line; everything is pretty, but terrible things are right behind all the colors."

Thus definition was written long before Adventure Time and its cousins came out, and is perhaps a bit reductive, since it doesn't really address the melancholic or sometimes philosophical tack these shows will sometimes take, but it's a good marker on the map to orient ourselves with.

Okay here's thing:

1. All these categories? I'd consider pretty extreme corners of genre fiction. Like they should not be taken as categorical but rather far end points on a spectrum, and thats being generous. there is a lot of room for nuance between all these, and I would say a lot of settings wouldn't fit any one of them. Like I'd personally contest putting Star Wars into Nobledark and Exalted into Noblebright? those don't feel right at all to me, but thats neither here nor there.

2. What the OP is describing probably wasn't made with any of these categories in mind. any of the shows really. Because these definitions are all things that like, originated as memes back in like 2008 and probably from the online WH40k fandom. its essentially a 13 year old meme

3. it sounds like he's just taking stuff from one author, and one author does not a genre make. just say its inspired by Pendleton Ward's stuff, because that is the most accurate and honest your going to get. otherwise the closest genre you can place on them is "Post 2010 story-based cartoons", because what the OP describes could describe a few shows I've seen that have nothing to do with Pendleton Ward guy whose stuff I've personally never watched. though considering what the description reminds me of, if we're really insisting on this particular genre categorization system I'd just say they're all noblebright, straight up. melancholy has no affect on this- or if it does, well the melancholy is about how the character is sympathetic which is the universe showing compassion to that character thus a Noble trait, thus Noblebright. just because its sad doesn't mean its not noble.