History Main / KillTheCutie

** In the [[Manga/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 anime version]], [[spoiler:Selim]] is killed by his father in the final episode for [[spoiler:accidentally bringing his one weakness to a fight]].

* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' has a unique example due to the [[HealingFactor effects of]] [[{{Immortality}} the elixir]]. Czeslaw Meyer inevitably becomes a victim of this trope over and [[FateWorseThanDeath over]] [[BlessedWithSuck again]] by his [[AbusiveParents beloved guardian]]. Strangely it is through Kill the Cutie that BreakTheCutie occurs and results in Czes turning into a JerkAss CrazySurvivalist. [[spoiler: He gets better, but ONLY after this cycle is repeated many times.]]
* ''Anime/WeissKreuz'' is pretty fond of this trope. The clearest examples appear in ''Weiss Kreuz Gluhen'': first [[spoiler:Nozomi-chan]], after befriending Sena, is given the BreakTheCutie treatment and DrivenToSuicide within the first few episodes. Then, in the second half of the series, [[spoiler:Asami]] is rewarded for her effort to be a good and caring teacher by getting ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice by [[spoiler:Tsuji]], and dies in Aya's arms. [[spoiler:Sena]] isn't immune either, [[spoiler:he survives to the second-to-last episode before getting shot by his mother and also dying in Aya's arms]]. Seems to be a trend.
* [[spoiler:Kotori]] from ''Manga/{{X1999}}'', after a prolonged stretch of BreakTheCutie.

** All Franchise/{{Gundam}} stories loves this, especially ''[[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Victory Gundam]]'', with mass amounts of persons of all kinds (and ''specially'' cute {{Action Girl}}s) getting killed. '''WarIsHell''' indeed.

* Rin from ''Manga/InuYasha'' suffers a subversion of this trope on two occasions. The first time, she is [[spoiler: killed by wolves and brought back to life by Sesshomaru's [[HealingShiv Tenseiga]] ]]. The second time, she [[spoiler: dies after being abducted to the Underworld but is revived by the [[AppliedPhlebotinum Meidou Stone]] ]].

* ''Anime/DanganRonpa3'' gives us [[spoiler:Chiaki Nanami]] in Despair Arc episode 10. While many saw it coming due to the arc's status as a prequel, the kill itself, being the chronological first [[spoiler: execution]] in the series, took half the episode and was filled with so many {{hope spot}}s that both [[spoiler: Class 77]] and the viewers alike fell into Despair. The kicker is that [[spoiler:Chiaki hangs on long enough to have some final words with [[TheStoic Izuru]]]] which drive even him to tears.

* The acclaimed ''Series/{{Star Trek|The Original Series}}: TOS'' episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" offers [[TheHero Kirk]] a SadisticChoice: either Kill the Cutie or [[GodwinsLawOfTimeTravel alter history so the Nazis win]] UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. [[spoiler:He does the right thing in the end, although it's hard for him.]]
** Although it's not so much "kill" in this case as "allow to die"- the character in question was originally supposed to die in a road accident, but Kirk falling in love with her would have prevented that.

* AMC's live action adaptation of ''Series/TheWalkingDead'':

* Wendy in the 1975 version of ''Survivors'' was pretty much introduced for he purposes of later killing her off, after [[spoiler: a drunken Tom Price kills her for refusing his drunken advances]], forming the entire plot of the episode "Law and Order".

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

%% ** [[spoiler:[[TheAtoner E-102 Gamma]] and Tikal]] from ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure.''

Then they proceed to put them in to a battle against an antagonist and they wind up brutally killed off. Further, the awful deed is done on camera to [[HesJustHiding make sure we know it.]] Usually they get a few moments to show their ability to keep a warrior on his toes, but their deaths are all but certain once they decided to pick up a weapon ([[ActualPacifist or not]]) and go through trial by combat. As for the audience, [[TearJerker what comes next is obvious.]]

** Josh in the original ''Film/{{Hostel}}''. The fact he gets arguably the most painful death in the entire movie just makes it much, much worse.
** Also, Karen from ''Film/CabinFever'' [[spoiler: The closest thing to a nice character gets infected, locked in a shed, has her face eaten by a dog and is beaten to death with a shovel]].

%% * Literature/HarryPotter's potentially extensive list: [[spoiler:Dobby and Colin Creevey]] with arguably qualifying mentions to Lily and James Potter, [[spoiler:Fred Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Lavender Brown, and Hedwig]] depending on how you want to define cutie. In the backstory, there is also [[spoiler:Ariana Dumbledore]] whose premature death haunts both her of brothers, even a century later.

** The Eighth Doctor isn't exactly the cutie, but he's arguably the most jovial and upbeat of the Doctor's incarnations. He dies trying to save a Time Lord-hating pilot during the Time War, only to be resurrected and forced to face the reality of him needing to participate in the Time War, [[ActualPacifist which he has been trying to avoid.]] He crosses the DespairEventHorizon, as he decides to become a warrior in his next incarnation, gives up the name of the Doctor, and regenerates, broken and alone.

* Initially Lilly Kane, the character who dies before the beginning of the first episode of ''Series/VeronicaMars'', would count as an example, since she was a young attractive teenager who got her head smashed in with [[spoiler: an ashtray]], though she becomes arguably less of a 'cutie' during some of the later flashbacks as her innocence level drops.

* Bernardo and Riff in ''Theatre/WestSideStory'' are arguably the funniest characters in the show, even if they are gang-leaders that are intent on escalating the conflict. They provide snarky relief from Maria's and Tony's overly serious gushy lovey-doviness.

** Arguably Eponine as well. She's been given the short end of the stick for most of her adult life: her parents are abusive and force her to help in their schemes, she is clearly intelligent but can't make anything of it due to her situation, and her only friend and crush Marius consistently misses her advances and asks her to help him find Cosette so that he can confess his feelings. Ultimately, she dies from a stray shot while trying to reach the barricade, and when she is dying in Marius's arms, she says that being held by him is all she ever wanted. Oof.

* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', should you choose the Dark path, you get to [[spoiler: force-persuade Zaalbar to kill Mission Vao]].
** Arguably, sacrificing [[spoiler:Visas]] in your duel with Nihilus in the sequel counts.

* Arguably, ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' of all things. Samus's [[AndroclesLion surrogate child]] gets kidnapped and treated in a somewhat [[TheWoobie Woobie]] manner, [[spoiler: and then killed off by Mother Brain.]] Every time the player dies in this game, he/she is treated to an image of the [[spoiler:Metroid]] still calling out to Samus in [[spoiler: its]] little shrieks, too..
* ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' takes this to a whole 'nother level of PlayerPunch. [[spoiler:Toroko is kidnapped by Misery at the start of the game after being mistaken for Sue, driving the player to try to get her back somehow on top of other plot threads. Things take a trip down [[DarkerAndEdgier Dark Way and Edgy Avenue]] when you get to the Sand Zone's Storehouse, where Balrog (compelled by the Demon Crown worn by the Doctor) stuffs a red flower down Toroko's throat. The player winds up fulfilling this trope as a {{mercy kill}}ing to keep Toroko from going completely berserk.]]
** This only gets us started on the doom train. [[spoiler: Secondary characters start dropping like flies. King dies from wounds he got trying to stop the Doctor, ''immediately'' after Toroko. Then you get sent to the Labyrinth, where Professor Booster will die in front of you. Then Curly Brace, your cute partner, will sacrifice herself to save you from drowning.]] Doing [[GuideDangIt a few unintuitive things]] can save some of them, but long odds you aren't going to know what those are the first time.

* ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'': [[spoiler:Isara Gunther, younger sister by adoption to Squad 7's Commander, spends most of the game trying to overcome the prejudice of others against her due to her being of Darcsen descent. She goes out of her way to be helpful and kind despite the response and prejudice of other squad members against her because of this, especially the hostility of Rosie. However she perseveres and, being a brilliant engineer and tank pilot, proves to be a huge asset to the squad and overcomes the prejudices of her squadmates. Following a victory made possible by smoke shells invented by Isara, Rosie approaches her intending to apologise for her previous attitude... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzancAU4cRQ Isara promptly gets shot and killed by a sniper.]] Words cannot express how devastating this scene is after all the build up of her character throughout. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmnzrGRxnE4 Her funeral is no better]].]] To make things even worse, it is possible to complete Valkyria Chronicles without losing a single other member of your squad, making it arguably even harder-hitting. And because it is part of the storyline rather than gameplay (unlike other potential deaths) it is impossible to prevent.
** ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChroniclesIII'': Even someone who barely know of her feel saddened by her death, as fellow Darcsen Imca can attest. This game also has its own cutie-killing event, [[spoiler:except that it's you who do it: you can't proceed to the final battle without killing Zig, the Darcsen lad who is loyal unto death to Dahau]].
* Throughout ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'', [[spoiler:both Morgan [=LeFlay=] and Guybrush are cuties in that she is a sweet femme fatale and he is a cute dork. It is very sad that [[HeroKiller [=LeChuck=] has to go and kill them both]] in Chapter 4: first sending the latter (Guybrush) on a case of MistakenForMurderer, and later turning his act of triumph into a stunning, tragic TearJerker. (Thankfully, he gets better in Chapter 5.)]]

* Everyone in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry''. '''[[GroundhogDayLoop Repeatedly]]'''.

* ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'' does this with both [[spoiler:Nagisa and her daughter Ushio.]] Separately. With just enough time in between for [[spoiler:Tomoya]] and the audience to rediscover hope. The six-episode gap just serves to rebuild happiness, so the latter death could rip it all away a second time.

* The 1980 ''Manga/AstroBoy'' series thrives on this. More often than not an episode will introduce a sympathetic robot character only to kill them off, leaving Astro to bemoan why humans had to make robots that way.
* ''Anime/WolfsRain'': The youngest character, Toboe, is the first to die. And Toboe's death is just the [[FromBadToWorse START]] of [[ApocalypseHow it.]]

* In ''Fang Of The Sun Dougram'', when Rita's naivete gets her killed, it doesn't just send George, who was quite obviously in love with her, into an UnstoppableRage, it actually turns him into a cynical asshole for much of the rest of the show.

*** Following this last bit of logic, [[spoiler: Kira Izuru]] is pretty much done for. Only a miracle can save [[spoiler: him]] now. [[spoiler: And while he didn't start as a cutie, Byakuya Kuchiki ''has'' gone through a cycle of CharacterDevelopment and was very cute as a kid... and now he's few more than a splatter on a wall after a massive CurbStompBattle. ''Then'' he lives on... but barely.]]
* Lisanna from ''Manga/FairyTail'' is presented this way as a character in a {{Flashback}}. Adorable, sweet, and a {{Love Interest|s}} for [[ChasteHero Natsu]], she was quickly liked by everyone... until she goes on an S-Ranked mission with her SiblingTeam and is killed by her [[TearJerker older brother Elfman]] when he loses control of his Take Over magic.
** [[spoiler:Subverted for [[HesJustHiding she's just hiding]] in a parallel universe where said counterpart died]]
* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'': [[spoiler: Hansel and Gretel]] are quite the variation on the trope. They ''are'' portrayed as soulless killers with no mercy, but then we get to learn [[spoiler: that their shared BackStory involved almost '''unspeakable''' horrors (ParentalAbandonment, OrphanageOfFear, rape, murder, snuff, etc.), which shaped them both into the killers we meet]]. So their whole life is a long, bloody, slow Kill the Cutie process...
* [[spoiler: Franz and Edmond]] in ''Anime/{{Gankutsuou}}''.
* Saya from ''Manga/BlackCat'', when Creed [[spoiler: finds out Train doesn't want to live a life of assassin and wants to be free, and finds out its because of her]].
* [[spoiler: Alois/Jim]] from ''[[Manga/BlackButler Black Butler II]]''.

* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' has [[spoiler: Mami]].
** And in episode 9, [[spoiler: Sayaka. And Kyouko]].
** Episode 10. [[spoiler: They're all alternate timelines, but everyone except Homura, multiple times]].
** What makes this worse is that [[spoiler:the universe is [[PoweredByAForsakenChild powered by this trope]]]].
** [[spoiler: The title character herself. She technically [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence ascended to a higher plane of existence]], but it has been stated [[MessianicArchetype she sacrificed her own self as an immaterial force]]. For all intents and purposes, she is not just dead, but she also ''never even existed''.]]
* With a name like ''VideoGame/CorpseParty'', it was probably inevitable, but [[spoiler: Seiko's death]] is still devastating due to what leads up to it.
* [[spoiler: The 10031st MISAKA]] in ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'' and it's [[CruelAndUnusualDeath not pretty]]. [[spoiler:The 9982nd MISAKA]] in the ''Manga/ACertainScientificRailgun'' suffers a slightly less brutal death, but hits even harder because she spent the episode having funny and heartwarming moments with [[spoiler:her original]] Mikoto Misaka beforehand, and Mikoto gets to see her death happen right in front of her eyes rather than just see the aftermath.
* In ''Anime/BloodC'' we have [[spoiler:Nene and Nono]] GOD DAMN!! And to twist the knife even more? [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope They weren't]] [[BitchInSheepsClothing exactly cuties]], [[FakingTheDead their deaths were faked]], and then their ''definitive'' demises were '''even worse'''.]]

* ''Manga/{{Sekirei}}'' is a big battle royale with teams mostly made up of cute girls, so this is pretty common. It's suggested that losers can be brought back, though.

* [[spoiler: Mayuri]] from ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate'', [[spoiler: repeatedly and at length, across several timelines]]. To the point that the very inevitability of [[spoiler: her]] death is a plot point; [[spoiler: Mayuri will die, [[ContrivedCoincidence no matter how painfully contrived the circumstances]], unless Rintaro can undo enough changes to the timeline to return from the "beta" world line to the "alpha" world line]].
* [[spoiler: Marco Bott]] from ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'' ends up DyingAlone, as a reminder of how cruel and senseless death often is for the RedShirtArmy the cast belongs to. [[spoiler: He was a kind and patient young leader, well-respected by his comrades, and absolutely vital in holding the trainees together during the Battle of Trost. In the aftermath, his [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe mangled corpse]] is discovered by his best friend, Jean.]]
* ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'', being the DarkerAndEdgier setting that it is, likes to kill and break cuties all the time. The first instance is that of a cute, adolescent girl named Colette who seems to develop a crush on Guts when she and her father offer him a ride in their wagon. When night falls, the evil spirits that are attracted to Guts' brand animate the skeletons from an old battle and first make their presence known by running Colette through with a spear. It's then taken a step further when they animate ''her'' corpse and force Guts to cut her in half.
** Then there's Adonis, the young son of resident {{Jerkass}} Count Julius. When Guts assassinates Julius on orders from Griffith, Adonis walks in at the moment that Julius falls dead on the floor and gives himself away. Guts attacks on reflex, as he is trying not to be discovered, but when he sees just who he ran through with his {{BFS}}, he is [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone instantly horrified by what he's just done]]. Poor Adonis spends his last few seconds crying and gasping for life as the man who killed his father helplessly tries to console the kid. [[{{Tearjerker}} After finding Adonis' body, Hassan notes how Adonis never got to see his father smile. Once.]]
* Happens a couple of times in ''Manga/BattleAngelAlita'', even to the lead character. But the worst example is probably Haruka: a sweet, flute playing girl who wouldn't hurt a fly runs into an ancient vampire and bravely reaches out to him to make peace. The [[MoralEventHorizon self important scumbag]] then just bites her, infecting her with his "curse" [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to show her that humans and vampires will NEVER be able to exist together]] (and because he hates "poisonous innocence"). We now have to watch how the poor girl dies in excruciating agony [[DespairEventHorizon while also succumbing to absolute despair since she had been told before that infected humans have less than one percent chance of survival.]] After this, Haruka's beloved, who is the man destined to restore human civilization, is [[StartOfDarkness permanently hardened]] and the entire future of the world turns out much more dystopian then it normally would have been. An cruel example of "Karmatron dynamics" in action, really.
* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Kirito's girlfriend Sachi dies because Kirito didn't warn their teammates about the trap they were about to trigger. The trap sealed off all escape routes and summoned hordes of monsters to attack them. [[ThisIsGonnaSuck While she didn't know the exact reason that Kirito didn't want to open that chest, she knew there was a good reason, but couldn't talk the others out of opening it.]] Kirito wasn't able to save any of them, with Sachi dying last, after hearing the screams of impending death from her friends. The whole thing pushes Kirito past the DespairEventHorizon.
** Kirito gets better only to cross the DespairEventHorizon again after his fiance/in-game wife Asuna is struck down taking a fatal blow meant for him. He was about to resign himself to dying with her until he thought of all the people who were counting on him and pulls off a dramatic TakingYouWithMe. The BigBad was so impressed, he decided not to apply the rule that if you die in the game, you die in real life to them.
* [[spoiler: Both Cosmo and Molly]] in ''Anime/SonicX'' kick the bucket near the end of the third season of the anime (though in the case of [[spoiler: Molly]] [[SparedByTheAdaptation in the English version]], [[{{Bowdlerise}} she survives off-screen]]) and their deaths were both [[HeroicSacrifice Heroic Sacrifices]].

* ''Manga/MadeInAbyss'': Bondrewd the Novel has made something of a specialty of this. The most notable instance has to be Mitty; in the later chapters of the manga and the final episode of the anime, we're introduced to Mitty, a happy little girl who befriends Nanachi right away. [[spoiler:Due to Bondrewd's experimentation, however? Mitty is graphically reduced to little more than a tortured blob asking for death in its last conscious moments -- turning a [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/madeinabyss/images/3/3d/Mitty-Human-Char.png/revision/latest?cb=20170707184508 cute little girl]] into [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/madeinabyss/images/b/b6/Mitty-Char.png/revision/latest?cb=20170621150403 something out of]] ''Franchise/SilentHill''. Mitty is left alive as a tortured, voiceless, mindless blob for a while, but Reg eventually fulfills this trope all the way by giving her a MercyKill.]]
* ''Anime/DanganRonpa3'' gives us [[spoiler: Chiaki Nanami]] in Despair Arc episode 10. While many saw it coming due to the arc's status as a prequel, the kill itself, being the chronological first [[spoiler: execution]] in the series, took half the episode and was filled with so many {{hope spot}}s that both [[spoiler: Class 77]] and the viewers alike fell into Despair. The kicker is that [[spoiler: Chiaki]] hangs on long enough to have some final words with [[spoiler: [[TheStoic Izuru]]]] which drive even him to tears.
* ''Anime/ReCreators'': Of all the fictional characters that appear on the real world, [[spoiler:[[MagicalGirl Mamika Kirameki]]]] is the sweetest and nicest. She even takes the opportunity to hear [[BigBad Altair]]'s story and tries to [[YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre appeal to her better nature and get her to let go of her sadness and grief.]] Unfortunately, [[spoiler:Altair is too angry to listen to reason and brutally murders her]].
* ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' has Wormmon. Poor, poor Wormmon. After being verbally and physically abused by Ken for over 20 episodes, he sacrifices himself by giving Magnamon all of his remaining energy in order to destroy Kimeramon. He ends up dying in Ken's arms, which combined with Ken realizing the awful things he has done finally sets Ken on the path to redeem himself and join the good guys. [[spoiler:Thankfully [[BackFromTheDead Wormmon gets better a few episodes later.]]]]
** ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' has a minor example in the form of Patamon. By far the cutest of the partner digimon, after agonizing over his inability to evolve he finally manages to [[OurAngelsAreDifferent evolve into Angemon]] only to end up [[TakingYouWithMe dying in a last-ditch effort to kill Devimon]]. [[spoiler:Like Wormmon, he gets better in the next episode]]. This event would serve as a catalyst for Takeru's character development, with Angemon's death haunting him [[Anime/DigimonAdventure02 three years]] and even [[Anime/DigimonAdventureTri six years]] later and making him absolutely despise anyone toying with the forces of darkness as a result.
* In the ''Franchise/DragonBall'' movie ''[[Anime/DragonBallThePathToPower Path to Power]]'', the pacifistic, gentle Android 8 dies after fighting as hard as he can to protect an unconscious Goku from Officer Black and his giant robot, and Goku wakes up just in time to see his friend's last moments. Heartbroken, he begins screaming his head off from grief and rage... [[BullyingADragon and then Black just ''has'' to be stupid enough to mock him for his loss]], [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge which causes Goku to reduces him and his robot to ashes with a rage-fueled Kamehameha.]]
* ''Anime/CyberpunkEdgerunners'' has one in [[spoiler: Rebecca]] who is a PintSizedPowerhouse who mostly wields [=BFGs=] and has the [[OlderThanTheyLook physique of a 14 year old girl]]. During the second half of the series, she became the [[TheLancer lancer]] to David's crew and, during the mission to rescue Lucy from Arasaka's clutches, she got [[spoiler: stepped on by [[TheDreaded Adam Smasher]] as he falls to catch David. The results were [[LudicrousGibs not pretty, to say the least.]]]]

* ''Literature/ThePoisonwoodBible'': [[spoiler:Ruth May, the youngest of the Price sisters, is killed by a venomous snakebite.]] Her death marks a major turning point in the novel.

* [[spoiler: Yukari]] in ''Manga/MurasakiiroNoQualia''. [[spoiler: Her death is off-screen, and serves as a catalyst for her best friend Hatou to then use her abilities to search for anything about her death in the infinite possibilities of infinitite possible worlds.]]

* In ''Literature/UncleTomsCabin'', [[spoiler:Tom, a slave, meets a cute little girl named Eva, saving her from drowning and resulting in Tom gaining the respect of her father, Tom's new owner. However, two years into Tom's life with the family, Eva gets an illness and dies a short time later. The illness is never explicitly stated, but is implied to be tuberculosis, which is '''very''' painful.]]

* [[spoiler: Rue]] in ''Literature/TheHungerGames''.
** Depending on definition, also possibly [[spoiler: Cinna]] from the second book, although [[spoiler: we don't know for sure that he's actually dead.]]
** And just when you think that maybe [[spoiler: Rue]] has fulfilled this trope enough for one trilogy, they go and kill off ''[[spoiler: Prim]]'' in the final book. [[TearJerker Pass the tissues.]]
* In ''Literature/{{Gone}}'', the [[VagueAge preteen]] Brianna is killed in combat.

* [[spoiler:Johnny]] in ''Literature/TheOutsiders''

* [[spoiler:Emilio]] in Creator/JCHutchins' ''Literature/PersonalEffects: Literature/DarkArts'' is another rare male example.
* Literature/HarryPotter's potentially extensive list: [[spoiler:Dobby and Colin Creevey]] with arguably qualifying mentions to Lily and James Potter, [[spoiler:Fred Weasley, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Lavender Brown, and Hedwig]] depending on how you want to define cutie. In the backstory, there is also [[spoiler:Ariana Dumbledore]] whose premature death haunts both her of brothers, even a century later.

* Erin Hunter's ''Literature/WarriorCats''. If there is a cutie, expect them to end up [[BreakTheCutie broken]], if not dead. One of the first examples is Spottedleaf, the protagonist's FirstLove and ThunderClan's kindly medicine cat.
* ''[[{{Literature/Redwall}} Martin the Warrior]]'' has Laterose die at the end of the book, causing Martin to go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* [[spoiler: Piggy]] from ''Literature/LordOfTheFlies''. [[spoiler: Simon]], too.
* In ''Literature/TheBookOfTheDunCow'', [[spoiler: Beryl, the Wee Widow Mouse, and the three Pins]] count.

* ''Literature/BridgeToTerabithia'': [[spoiler:Poor Leslie..]].
* [[Literature/AnneOfGreenGables Rilla of Ingleside]] loses her favourite brother, Walter, in World War One. Made worse by the fact that [[TheWoobie Walter]] desperately didn't want to go, and had spent half the novel in a state of torment because he thought himself a coward. And he was always the kindest, gentlest of the children.
* Bheth Halleck from ''Dune: House Harkonnen'': The gentle younger sister of Gurney Halleck's Bheth is first kidnapped by the Harkonnens for trying to protect her brother. Next they cut out her larynx so she can't do more than scream wordlessly. Then she is subjected to 6 years (starting at an innocent 17 years old) of sadistic rape and torture by a recorded 4620 Harkonnan soldiers. The Beast Rabban finally kills her in retribution of Gurney's attempt on his life.
* [[spoiler:Weena]] in ''Literature/TheTimeMachine''.
%% * ''Literature/ChaosWalking'':
%% ** [[spoiler:Manchee]] in ''The Knife of Never Letting Go''.
%% ** [[spoiler:Maddy]] in ''The Ask and the Answer''.
* [[spoiler: Clarisse]] in ''Literature/{{Fahrenheit 451}}''.
* [[spoiler:Ray Pierce]] in ''Literature/MildredPierce''. Also in the film and the miniseries adaptation.
* ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheJerleShannara'' has Ryer Ord Star, who...
-->hung from the yardarm of Black Moclips, swaying gently at the ends of the ropes tied about her wrists. Blood coated her arms from the deep gouges the ropes had made in her flesh, and sweat ran down her face and body in spite of the cool night air. Her pain was all encompassing, racking her slender body from head to toe, rising and falling in steady waves as she waited to die.

* Literature/{{Dracula}}: Lucy Westenra. The book goes out of it's way to showcase she was a kind and caring individual if just a little flighty. Then Dracula starts feeding off her and she weakens until she eventually dies. Yes, she comes back as a vampire, but it's an utter corruption of her former self that there's no traces of the person she was as a human. Needless to say her staking is treated very solemnly.

* ''Literature/AmericanDirt'': Two-thirds through the novel, the group meets a plucky ten-year-old boy, Beto. Though wreckless and naive, he is quickly welcomed thanks to his goofy and lighthearted nature, providing a source of levity for the suffering migrants. [[spoiler:During the trek of the desert, however, Beto's asthma finally catches up to him, and he chokes to death. His demise stays with the others long after.]]

Like [[BreakTheCutie Breaking the Cutie]], such deaths provoke the lead character to [[HeroicBSOD an unprecedented level of bloodlust from watching the cutie die in such a gruesome manner]] and he is [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge driven to kill the bastard who cut them down]]. At best, characters who witness this will enter an UnstoppableRage. At worst, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters they may very well turn evil from the depravity of the act]]. A lesser grunt will either die in futility challenging the murderer or die a redeeming death for their beloved cutie. Expect an AntiVillain or NobleDemon who witnesses the act to get pissed off at the offender, possibly with an EvenEvilHasStandards rant. Moments like these are especially harsh for someone with a [[ThouShaltNotKill no kill code]], so any villain who does this had better hope that the hero regains his composure before he becomes a bloody corpse on the ground.

* ''Film/MercenariesFromHongKong'': The young daughter of Sergeant Tai, an girl suffering from cancer, who have a remaining lifespan of less than a year... and she gets kidnapped and shot in the final confrontation.

** Then tampered with again for [[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} Yosuke]] as he loses Saki. God. the Junpei partner type always has [[HeartbrokenBadass the worst luck]]. This is lampshaded when [[spoiler:he plans to murder Namatame first...after [[TokenMiniMoe Nanako]]'s apparent death. Unlike the above examples, she ''can'' [[BackFromTheDead get better]], but only if you choose ''not'' to kill Namatame]].

** [[spoiler:This also applies to Minato in P3]]
** Then tampered with again for [[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} Yosuke]] as he loses Saki. God the Junpei partner type is easily have [[HeartbrokenBadass the worst luck]], this is lampshaded when [[spoiler:he plans to murder Namatame first...after [[TokenMiniMoe Nanako]]'s apparent death. Unlike the above examples, she ''can'' [[BackFromTheDead get better]], but only if you choose ''not'' to kill Namatame]].
** ''VideoGame/Persona2'' has [[spoiler: Maya Amano. It's her death that brings forth the end of the world and sets the stage for the second game in the duology]].

** TheChick Amy was the kindest and most pleasant of the survivors, to the point where even ''Merle'' liked her, and he was a openly racist, sociopathic {{Jerkass}}. She was also the first one to die after walkers attack the camp. Well, OK, Carol's husband was killed and eaten before she was, but none of the survivors or viewers gave a toss about that [[WouldHitAGirl wife-abusing]] [[AssholeVictim asshole]].

* In the bad ending of ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow]]'', Soma Cruz becomes corrupted by his powers after seeing his childhood friend Mina Hakuba killed in front of him. [[spoiler:Subverted in the true ending as it was a fake.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': [[TheyKilledKennyAgain Kenny McCormick.]] The universe loves to break or kill him. And then bring him back again.

* ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'' gives us a rather depressing example with Bing-Bong.

* Bernardo and Riff in ''Theatre/WestSideStory'' are arguably the funniest characters in the show, even if they are gang-leaders. They provide snarky relief from Maria's and Tony's overly serious gushy lovey-doviness.

** Poor, poor [[spoiler:Shireen Baratheon]] from the Season 5 episode "The Dance of Dragons" - one of the most pure, innocent, good, sweet and selfless characters on the show and is brutally executed by fire by her father.
** And an episode later -- poor [[spoiler:Myrcella]] dies horribly after being poisoned by Ellaria. Not to mention [[spoiler:her brother Tommen]] one season later, who ultimately kills himself after being in the DespairEventHorizon for so long...

* [[spoiler: [[TheWoobie Lilly]], the protagonist's best friend,]] from the Adobe Flash game ''Free Ice Cream''. Seen alive only in the title card and credits, [[spoiler: she can be found locked up in the Cook's meat freezer]]. [[CruelAndUnusualDeath Yeah...]]

* Soma Cruz becomes corrupted by his powers after seeing his childhood friend Mina Hakuba killed in front of him in the bad ending of [[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow]]. Subverted in the true ending as it was a fake.
* In the intro mission to VideoGame/CallOfDuty: Big Red One, you meet a young new recruit who just transferred into your squad, and apparently immediately out of basic. He is, unlike the other war-weary characters, happy, energetic, ready to kill some bad guys, and dives to the ground every time a plane passes over, much to the annoyance of your squadmates. Unfortunately, he is killed at the end of the level.

* In ''VideoGame/UntilDawn'', if Ashley gets either her EyeScream or OffWithHerHead deaths, it invokes this. The other girls in the game are attractive and be brutally killed, but Ashley is clearly designed to be the most cutesy, with her rounder face, shy personality, and manner of dress.

* Hey! Is there a character you like in ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest''? It's almost definite they won't make it to the end, thanks to the [[KillEmAll premise]].

** All KillEmAll Franchise/{{Gundam}} stories loves this, especially ''[[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Victory Gundam]]'', with mass amounts of persons of all kinds (and ''specially'' cute {{Action Girl}}s) getting killed. '''WarIsHell''' indeed.
* Creator/YoshiyukiTomino's KillEmAll shows are overloaded with this. Non-cuties die plenty too, though.

* ''Anime/WolfsRain'': The youngest character, Toboe, is the first to die. And Toboe's death is just the [[FromBadToWorse START]] [[KillEmAll of]] [[ApocalypseHow it.]]

* PlayedForLaughs in a ''WebAnimation/TerribleWritingAdvice'' episode that explores the Grimdark genre. J.P. Beubian demonstrates this trope by manipulating the viewer to get emotionally attached to a cute animal, then he immediately kills said animal to shock the viewer while ''demanding'' they feel bad. [[RunningGag Throughout the episode, he has killed a kitten, a puppy, and a baby seal, and then he ran out of cute animals to kill.]] This is to demonstrate that the overuse of this trope will most likely make the story predictable and will thus kill off some narrative tension.

* PlayedForLaughs in a ''WebAnimation/TerribleWritingAdvice'' episode that explores the Grimdark genre. J.P. Beubian demonstrates this trope by manipulating the viewer to get emotionally attached to a cute animal, then he immediately kills the animal for shock value while ''demanding'' that the viewer felt bad. [[RunningGag Throughout the course of the episode, he has killed a kitten, a puppy, and a baby seal. And he would've killed more animals if he didn't run out of them.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Film/MercenariesFromHongKong'': The young daughter of Sergeant Tai, an IllGirl suffering from cancer, who have a remaining lifespan of less than a year... and she gets kidnapped and shot in the final confrontation.

* ''WebAnimation/{{Eddsworld}}'': Laurel from [=MovieMakers=]. She's introduced as a sweet girl who manages to get along well with the boys...[[spoiler:only to get killed off near the end of the same episode ''she debuted in''. [[KarmaHoudini God damn it, Shoe!!]]]]

* The death of Antonio is this in [[https://archiveofourown.org/works/41126109 I'm Staying with You]]. He drowns, and Camilo is just moments too late to save him.