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8th May '13 12:40:41 PM TiggersAreGreat

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This page has gotten so big that splitting into sub-pages would make it easier to work with. Don't panic, you'll find the examples in the sub-pages listed.

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[[folder: Anime & Manga]]
* ''Manga/DeathNote'':
** Naomi Misora is probably on the borderline between a Sacrificial Lion and a SacrificialLamb. She starts out as a savvy victim of NotNowKiddo. After the predictable results, she gets her own BackStory, the beginnings of CharacterDevelopment, and stars in the prequel novel. Her death reveals the series' AnyoneCanDie nature.
** L, the Hero Antagonist through 2/3s of the series. The series completely shifts gears after that point.
* The lovable Maes Hughes of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' dies a way's into ''both'' [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist versions]] of the series. He was already well underway to unraveling the plot before the main protagonists (and it's not until a good deal later that the protagonists ''and'' the audience discover just ''how'' close Hughes had come to figuring out the villains' scheme) and even manages to get the drop on his assassin. Unfortunately, the assassin [[HealingFactor wasn't human]].
* Robert "Roy" Device from ''SilentMoebius''.
* Nuriko of ''FushigiYuugi'' was killed by an enemy warrior roughly two-thirds of the way through the story. It came as a real shock since Nuriko was a [[BoisterousBruiser comic]] but well-developed character, he was extremely popular, and it was the first time a Suzaku warrior had been KilledOffForReal. His death was also a foretaste of the much bloodier turn the series was about to take, in which [[KillEmAll most of the Suzaku and Seiryuu warriors were picked off one by one.]]
** Of course, Nuriko's case was very obviously a case of this, as [[StupidSacrifice his death could have been averted with common sense.]] The only reason he died was for a PlayerPunch.
* Due to a case of SchrodingersCat, the manga version of ''[[NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion]]'''s Toji Suzuhara met a much more [[KilledOffForReal definite]] fate than his anime counterpart shortly past the show's halfway point. He did undergo some character development back as one of ThoseTwoGuys (mainly through his connection to his hospitalized sister), but only really became notable after he got TheCall. Of course, even in the anime he still [[PutOnABus disappears off the face of the earth after the fact]].
** Of course, by the end of ''EndOfEvangelion'', HUMANITY disappeared off the face of the earth by being [[MemeticMutation tangified]], so it's pretty clear where he ended up.
* Gesicht, the main character of ''{{Pluto}}'', is murdered three-quarters of the way through. The other robots would count as well.
* Kamina from ''TengenToppaGurrenLagann''. He started off as a DecoyProtagonist, and his death one third of the way through the show sends the main character into a HeroicBSOD.
** Kittan as well, along with all the minor pilots.
* Leomon in the ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' Franchise. Incidentally, he's an actual lion. This is a recurring in-joke for the meta-series which the directors are entirely aware of. When they were deciding on which digimon would be killed during ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' they chose Leomon simply because he had been killed before. Other seasons seem to follow suit and at least one Leomon is killed per continuity.
** The deaths of the various Leomon always tend to be one of the series' {{Tear Jerker}}s. [[BreakTheCutie ESPECIALLY]] [[Anime/DigimonTamers Tamers]].
* Every member of the Band of the Hawk who isn't Guts, Griffith or Casca dies horribly during the final episode of ''{{Berserk}}'' after Griffith makes his DealWithTheDevil and marks everyone for sacrifice to the Godhand. The only other survivor of it all was Rickert, who had the good fortune to not be with the general group when the Eclipse went down.
** Actually, Casca herself is a living example, since she didn't die, but nonetheless went through a horrific StuffedIntoTheFridge ordeal that involved her being violently raped to insanity by Griffith in front of Guts when he became a demigod. Her fate is suppose to serve as a constant and disturbing reminder to the audience that Griffith is ''not a good guy,'' especially since [[{{WMG}} every explanation]] for the act falls flat on its face and was [[ForTheEvulz really unnecessary in the end.]]
* Theresa of the Faint Smile in ''{{Claymore}}''. More a variant of this trope, as we know she's dead from the start, but are shown her story (and thus Clare's backstory) about a third of the way through the main plot, and if the backstory were presented first, the audience would ''never'' see it coming.
** It then happens again later on to show just how out of their league the Claymores are in the Northern campaign, where Rigald takes out Undine, Veronica, Jean, and Flora in rapid succession. Although Veronica was basically a MauveShirt, the other three had all gotten fair amounts of character development by this point, and only Jean was able to hang onto life long enough to make her death shift from "shocking" to "tragic."
* ''LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' has two separate instances of this trope. The first is Kircheis, Reinhard's best friend and equal, who takes a bullet for him a quarter of the way through. The second is Yang Wenli, the main character next to Reinhard, who is shot in the leg and dies from blood loss three-quarters of the way through.
* Rei from ''FistOfTheNorthStar''.
* Richard Brown from ''Anime/{{Monster}}'', DrivenToSuicide after several chapters/episodes where he appeared to be the main character of the Munich arc.
* ''OnePiece'': Whitebeard, whose death had a huge impact on the whole world, and Ace, whose death had a huge impact on Luffy.
* Pisces Albafica in ''SaintSeiyaTheLostCanvas'', letting us know that AnyoneCanDie and marks the start of [[DwindlingParty the dwindling of the party]].
* Starscream meets his end this way in ''TransformersArmada''. After battling with Megatron and trying to convince him that Unicron is the real threat, he finally attacks Unicron himself and is destroyed in one shot. (Of course, considering how much damage he'd taken already, it was hardly a surprise.)
* In ''BloodPlus'', George asks to be killed by Saya before Delta 67 could turn him into a monster.
* Lieutenant Blue, the movie's (arguably) GoodCounterpart of General Blue in ''DragonBall Mystic Adventure'' was this. He tried to warn Emperor Chiaotzu about Tao and Shen's treacherous ambitions after somehow stumbling on Ranfan, Chiaotzu's wife, in Shen's bedroom, which got him killed by Tao.
** In the main series we have two Sacrificial Lions in Krillin who dies the first major death in all of ''DragonBall'' and then Future Trunks towards the end of the Cell Saga to show just how [[FromBadtoWorse bad things got]].
** Bora's death at the hands of Tao also qualify. His first appearance had him being strong enough to take out an entire unit of the Red Ribbon Army long before Goku got there, and was also a noble Indian. He ends up impaled by his own spear by Tao.
* Ryu Jose from ''MobileSuitGundam'' went out in a HeroicSacrifice just under halfway through the series. His death ended up making everyone on the White Base stronger.
** Perhaps as an intentional mirror of the audience, Amuro initially refused to believe that Ryu was really dead after Sayla tried to break the news to him.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Choujiro Sasakibe. Even in spite of his minor role, his death is not only is violent and bloody, but it plays out as a major, MAJOR WhamEpisode, since no good guy had ever died before this. It also seems to have had a lasting impact on Yamamoto and Byakuya's attitude towards the Vandenreich. Yamamoto has become much more angry, aggressive and impulsive than we're used to seeing and Byakuya has become more merciless.
* [[BadassGrandpa Hiruzen]] [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Sarutobi]], the [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority Third Hokage]] in ''{{Naruto}}'', who went out fighting [[KnightOfCerebus Orochimaru]], the BigBad of Part 1. Even though he goes via HeroicSacrifice, it still counts as the villain had pushed him into a spot with no alternative, and was the first major "good guy" death (2nd following [[SacrificialLamb Hayate Gekko]]). It also has a huge impact and lasting consequences (specifically, being replaced in his station by [[CoolOldLady Tsunade]]). His son Asuma, Team Leader for Team 10 qualifies even moreso, dying partway into Part 2 and embellishing how dangerous Akatsuki members are. Incidentally, in the two anime adaptations both Sarutobi men die in Episode 80.
** And now, it appears that Ao, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, and the rest of the sensors]] have been killed after the alliance's HQ was attacked by the Juubi, just to show how dangerous the damn thing is. Made extra poignant by Shikaku's determination to stay there and make sure he gets one final message out to the alliance, despite knowing full well that none of them will make it out alive. 
** And then, immediately following the above, we get possibly the most powerful example in the entire series: [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Neji Hyuga]] TakingTheBullet for Naruto and Hinata. He even [[GoOutWithASmile goes out smiling]].
* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', Tomoe Mami is built up as a sort of [[BigBrotherMentor Big Sister Mentor]] figure to the title character for the first few episodes, and then come Episode 3, she winds up dying ''horribly'' against Charlotte's OneWingedAngel form in order to show that being a MagicalGirl is ''[[{{Deconstruction}} not]]'' [[{{Deconstruction}} as innocent as it appears to be]]. And the worst part? She's '''''one of the main characters'''''. She's since showed up in the GroundhogDayLoop from episode 10, where she takes ([[TimeTravelTenseTrouble took? would have taken?]]) a more active role in things before being killed off like nearly everyone else.
* ''PandoraHearts'': Elliot Nightray, the walking RedHerring. Setup as the potential reincarnation of BigBad Glen Baskerville, he resolves to join forces with Oz in bringing peace to their FeudingFamilies. He's also on a mission to avenge the murders of his older brothers. Turns out [[TomatoInTheMirror he was the killer all along]] suffering from LaserGuidedAmnesia, and he's forced to perform a HeroicSacrifice in order to stop the Chain controlling him because it's BetterToDieThanBeKilled. His death leaves much of the cast traumatized, and leads his best friend Leo into a DespairEventHorizon when he learns Elliot's fate was his fate, because he was Glen all along. 
* [[NiceGuy Shusei]] in ''Anime/PsychoPass'' in Episode 16. The plot seems as if it will suddenly wrap up in this episode, despite more episodes left in the season...and then it is revealed that [[TheCracker Choe]] has managed to see the Sibyl System, something that arguably controls the majority of society. Shusei follows him into the room where the Sibyl System is located...and then Choe gets shot by the Police Chief who shows up almost out of nowhere, with a Dominator that makes [[YourHeadAsplode his head asplode.]] Shusei is relaxed, since he is technically a cop and Choe was an accomplice to [[ManipulativeBastard Makishima]] who had been caught earlier in the plot. Turns out, the chief wants Shusei dead as well and Shusei finds out the chief is a {{Cyborg}}...right before he is also shot with the Dominator, in a way that guarantees a messy death.
[[/folder]]

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[[folder:Film]]
* Janet Leigh's character in ''Film/{{Psycho}}'' is a classic example of this, [[DecoyProtagonist set up to be the main character]], only to be killed horribly early on.
* ''StarWars'':
** [[TheObiWan Obi-Wan Kenobi]] plays this role in ''Episode IV'', which is mirrored by Qui-Gon Jinn in ''Episode I''.
** Mace Windu in ''Episode III.''
* Russel Franklin, SamuelLJackson's character in ''Film/DeepBlueSea''. Most of the first half of the movie is character development for this man. You get to know him. Get to know how adventuresome and noble and kind-hearted but not naive he is. He is '''''obviously''''' the hero... or at least a decent secondary protagonist. He even gets to give a moving speech about how they'll all get out of there alive if they just pull together! And then [[IncrediblyLamePun out of the blue]], a shark eats him.
* From ''Film/{{Serenity}}'':
** Hoban Washburn, pilot extraordinaire, is a perfect example given that the creator of the film admitted he killed the man off just to make the Reavers look even more dangerous and to break the [[PlotArmor PC Shield]].
** Which makes Shepherd Book's death an example as well, killed to make ''The Operative'' look even more dangerous.
* Snails, the PluckyComicRelief from the dubious ''Film/DungeonsAndDragons'' movie, abruptly turns into a SacrificialLion in the middle of the film when they need to show how evil TheDragon is.
* In the sequel, ''Film/DungeonsAndDragonsWrathOfTheDragonGod'', Dorian the Cleric bites the dust after getting frozen, eaten and then exploded by a White Dragon... Interestingly, nearly everyone else in the party gets horribly wounded and maimed in every single scene after that, when having a Cleric would have been nice.
* Benicio del Toro admitted in the DVD commentary that this was his character's purposes in ''TheUsualSuspects''. He also said he added the accent and the behavior, because if he had to die, he at least wanted to be memorable.
* In the 1988 remake of ''TheBlob'' we follow the character of Paul throughout the first half of the movie and we slowly get to know him, but then he's the second person to be consumed by the blob.
* ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984'' sets Tina Grey up as a DecoyProtagonist. Then she dies (messily) and we realize that her best friend is the real main character. 
** [[Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet2010 The remake]] follows a smilar path.
* Gabriel, the son of Creator/MelGibson's protagonist character Benjamin Martin in ''ThePatriot'', gets a good amount of screen time and character development establishing him as a secondary protagonist. Then Gabriel's love interest and her family are burned to death when the film's BigBad Tavington [[MoralEventHorizon locks them in a church and sets it on fire]]. Gabriel attempts to get vengeance on Tavington, but is instead stabbed to death by Tavington in the fight. Of course, Tavington ''already'' crossed the MoralEventHorizon with the church-burning incident, so Gabriel's death basically serves to remind us that it's Mel Gibson's character who's the protagonist, and only ''he'' is allowed to finally kill Tavington at the end. Gabriel's death just gives Benjamin Martin added motivation.
* Dick from ''Film/TheShining''.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightSaga'' has multiple examples:
** ''Film/BatmanBegins'' has the NiceGuy District Attorney Carl Finch who seems like he will be important in bringing [[TheDon Carmine Falcone]] to justice and has dated Rachel Dawes in the past. He gets unceremoniously shot down by League of Shadows members disguised as cops.
** ''Film/TheDarkKnight'' has Rachel Dawes and Commissioner Loeb in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''. Also a case of SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome.
* Parody movie ''Film/AmazonWomenOnTheMoon'' has an interesting take on this. An astronaut's character development is alluded to, and is killed about halfway through the movie, but none of this is actually shown due to the film reel being faulty.
* Lt. Hawk in ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', while not getting an extreme amount of screen time he was presented as basically Worf's replacement onboard the Enterprise-E while Worf was stationed at [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]].
* [[TheObiWan Morgan Freeman's character]] in ''The Sum Of All Fears'' is one of these.
* Laurie Strode finally meets her death at the hands of Michael at the beginning of ''Film/HalloweenResurrection''.
* Liam Neeson's Godfrey in ''KingdomOfHeaven''. Godfrey is wounded about 15 minutes into the film and dies before the 30 minute mark, thus catalyzing his son Balian's new life in the Holy Lands and the main plot of the film. What made Godfrey's death so unexpected was that Liam Neeson was promoted as one of the biggest and most important names in the film.
* The titular lion in ''TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe''. He seems to like being this character. [[MessianicArchetype He recovers]] this time though.
* The movie version of ''Film/LAConfidential'' alternates its focus between the three cops Ed Exley, Bud White, and Jack Vincennes, establishing the characters' different approaches to their duties and their overall personality. Then Jack Vincennes is shot to death in the middle of the third act, letting us know this is a film where AnyoneCanDie.
* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' has two: [[DefrostingIceQueen Dr. Grace Augustine]] and [[VasquezAlwaysDies Trudy Chacon]].
* ''Film/TwentyEightWeeksLater'' has at least three. Firstly, it looks like RobertCarlyle's character, Don, is going to be the main protagonist, since, at the time of release, he was the biggest name in the film, and most of the promotional material focused on him. However, he's actually the first person infected by the zombie virus. Then Scarlet, a scientist looking for a cure, and Doyle, a soldier who helps them, are the new protagonists. Doyle performs a HeroicSacrifice pretty soon, and Scarlet is killed by, ironically enough, Don, the film's first SacrificialLion.
** And the first film has Frank, infected halfway through.
* Franka Potente's character in ''[[Film/TheBourneSeries The Bourne Supremacy]]'' is [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome killed off almost immediately]] even though she got second billing. Doubly surprising as in the Ludlum novels Literature/TheBourneSeries is (loosely) based on, nothing happens to her character.
* In the 2009 ''Film/StarTrek'' film it establishes early on that the second-in-command is George Kirk, Jim Kirk's father. The ([[OneSceneWonder memorable]]) Captain promotes Kirk to captain, implying that he knows full well that he may not make it back alive from the meeting with the Romulan's in the super-powerful ship. Once the ship resumes attacking George Kirk orders an evacuation and stays behind to fight off the Romulans, eventually making [[RammingAlwaysWorks suicide run]]. Spock's mother, too, is killed when Vulcan is destroyed, both of which reinforce that anything can happen in this timeline.
* The Kid (Leonardo [=DiCaprio=]'s character) from ''Film/TheQuickAndTheDead'' gets so much face time he's one of the films {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s, but in the end he's gut-shot and left to die in the street simply to show that Harod's so evil he'd kill his own son just to finish a gunfight contest.
* Baragon in ''Film/GodzillaMothraKingGhidorahGiantMonstersAllOutAttack'' is the first monster to be summoned to stop Godzilla, and is the first monster to die after being utterly [[CurbStompBattle curb-stomped by Godzilla]].
* ''Film/ReservoirDogs'', with Mr. Blonde being shot by Mr. Orange. An inversion since he's the good guy, but it's the first death of a main character, and it ups the ante from will Orange get treatment in time and will the cops bust in, to who will survive.
* ''Film/{{Alien 3}}'': When Ripley first crash lands on the prison planet, she is treated by CharlesDance's kindly doctor/former inmate Clemens. As the film progresses, the two form an increasingly close bond and eventually sleep together, implying that Clemens will be a major character and, at the very least, be given a HeroicSacrifice towards the end - then the alien appears, and Clemens is one of the first to die.
** ''Film/AlienResurrection'': Don't get too attached to MichaelWincott's {{badass}} ship captain - far from being the grizzlier, outlaw counterpart to the second movie's Corporal Hicks as he first appears, he's the first of the smugglers to get chomped when the aliens escape their holding cells.
* ''Ironhide'' is killed by the treacherous Sentinel Prime in ''Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon'' (immediately following an awesome MexicanStandoff scene with the 'Cons) by being shot in the back. He has enough time to ask "Why" before Sentinel sadistically "releases" the soldier from duty. It comes as especially shocking as up until then Sentinel was portrayed as an almost grandfatherly figure and mentor to Optimus.
* Many of the allies and love interests of Film/JamesBond throughout the series: Quarrel in ''Film/DrNo'', Karim Bey in ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'', Paula in ''Film/ThunderBall'', Ferrarra in ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'', Veejay in ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'', Sir Godfrey Tibbett in ''Film/AViewToAKill'', etc.
* ''Film/TheAvengers'' has [[PhilCoulson Agent Coulson]] being impaled by [[BigBad Loki]] while trying to keep him away from the console that would drop the caged Thor. He does get his DyingMomentOfAwesome when he fires off his {{BFG}} that he didn't even know what it would do.
** The subtext of the subsequent discussion of and allusions to his death also hints that he's the thing that "the Avengers" (until this moment only a government codename) are going to be, well, ''avenging'' from now on.
* Llewelyn Moss in ''NoCountryForOldMen''.
* Mani in ''BrotherhoodOfTheWolf''.
* Tatsuo in ''Kamikaze Taxi''
* The two main protagonists of ''Film/TheRock'' are a prisoner who isn't allowed to carry a gun and an FBI chemical weapons specialist who has to borrow one for the mission. Both survive the film. The [=SEAL=] team they're assigned to, expected to do all the heavy fighting, is wiped out in an ambush soon after they reach Alcatraz. 
[[/folder]]

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[[folder: Live Action TV]]
* ''MysteryScienceTheater3000'' loves to point these out. Tom Servo once called out, "Ding-ding-ding--'''VICTIM'''!" at one blatantly obvious Sacrificial Lion in ''IWasATeenageWerewolf''. It became a RunningGag as the teen walked through a desolated path.
* ActionGirl Tasha Yar from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. Granted [[DroppedABridgeOnHim her death]] was a way to shuffle Denise Crosby off the stage, but story-wise she's killed simply to make the MonsterOfTheWeek look even more lethal.
** An element of FridgeBrilliance kicks in when you remember that that's exactly what all the RedShirts died for in the Original Series - the only difference is that this time the audience ''knows'' the RedShirt in question.
* Jadzia Dax's death in the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Tears of the Prophets" is there to make Dukat an even more ominous BigBad than he already was, and serves to give Sisko a TenMinuteRetirement in CliffHanger form. (Don't worry, [[TheNthDoctor Dax gets better]]).
** In an SFDebris review of The Adversary, Chuck references this trope, along with the ubiquitous RedShirt.
---> Eddington: "You don't get to be a captain wearing a [[RedShirt gold uniform]]."
---> Chuck: "That's because guys in the gold uniforms usually get their salt sucked out to prove the situation's serious."
* Season two brings the first of many examples from ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' in Jenny Calendar. She's specifically killed to convince the Scooby Gang that Angelus is an actual threat. And Puccini would never be the same again.
** Joss had intended to do something similar with Xander's quickly-forgotten best friend Jesse in "[[ThePilot Welcome To The Hellmouth]]," but was unable to sneak him into the opening credits for a single episode.
** WordOfGod has it that in Season 7, the original plan was that Caleb would kill Xander.
* In the Buffy SpinOff ''Series/{{Angel}}'', [[TheLancer Doyle]] appears in the first episode, gets some strong characterization and a potential LoveInterest, and undergoes some noticeable CharacterDevelopment. Then, he pulls a HeroicSacrifice in the ninth episode [[RealLifeWritesThePlot because of his actor's drug habits.]]. Notably, unlike Jesse in [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer the parent series]], Doyle is [[DefiedTrope NOT]] [[ForgottenFallenFriend forgotten]], and even in the fifth and final season, his name and legacy are sore spots for the main characters.
* On ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'', Skulls, Racetrack, Kat, Socinus, Crashdown, Jammer, Dualla, and even Cally are all given screen time, character development, and plot points (in some cases, entire storylines and multi-episode story arcs). And then they die just to show how shitty the situation was.
* ''Series/TwentyFour'' is riddled with these, especially in Season 5. Don't get too attached to ''anyone'' in this show; they'll probably be dead by the end of the series.
** To go into further detail, there have only been two main characters who managed to live throughout the show from start to finish: Jack and Kim Bauer. Everyone else [[AnyoneCanDie died]], [[WhathappenedToTheMouse went missing]], got put in jail, or [[PutOnABus disappeared after one season ended]].
* Lieutenant Keffer, hotshot pilot of ''Series/BabylonFive'', had an entire season of character development and screen time for the fans to get to know him. Then he's killed in the season finale so everyone would know the Shadows are back and ready to rumble. For fun, this was actually a WriterRevolt: The network insisted on the character.
* ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'': Captain Jack seems like this at first, in DoctorWho. [[AlwaysChaoticEvil The Daleks]] drive him and his army into a corner (Not to mention they also go to the lower floors of a space station just to [[KillThemAll wipe out the humans hidden away there]]). Everybody's dead, and his machine gun just running out, he pulls out a pistol and fires that quickly running out of bullets. He relents, and asks what the Daleks are going to do.
--> "EX-TER-MI-NATE!
--> [[FamousLastWords I kinda figured that.]]
* ''Series/TheSarahConnorChronicles'':
** Derek Reese gets killed in the penultimate episode of the second season, just to show that the new AI isn't playing around like John Henry and Weaver were.
** Charley Dixon dies the episode before Derek; they are both examples of AnyoneCanDie.
** Derek also subverts the trope. Due to time travel, he reappears in the next episode alive and well.
* Damn near everyone in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}''. In particular, John Winchester in "In My Time Of Dying", Hendrickson in "Jus In Bello" and Jo and Ellen in "Abandon All Hope". Another possible example is Kubrick is "Fresh Blood", as he seems to be getting set up as another recurring antagonist, only to be killed in his second episode. Not to mention Bella (to remind us what's about to happen to Dean) and Anna (angels can stay dead).
* ''Damages'' kills off two out of its five cast members before the end of the first season to establish that yes, AnyoneCanDie.
* Boone Carlyle in ''Series/{{Lost}}'' receives a good deal of character development before being the first main character to die, restoring a AnyoneCanDie atmosphere to the show that it had lost after the first few episodes (thanks to the weird DisneyDeath of Charlie) and that it has maintained ever since.
** The deaths of Sayid, Jin and Sun in the final season, which happened to show the audience that The Man in Black was truly the BigBad.
* Cardinal Wolsey's banishment from court and subsequent execution in ''TheTudors'' could arguable be a drawn out version of this trope. The show had taken the time to build up Wolsey and establish him as a major force in the royal court and politics of Europe and billed the actor as a member of the main cast. His downfall helped establish Henry's fickle nature and demonstrate that in [[strike: this show]] RealLife AnyoneCanDie.
** Though he [[SuicideNotMurder wasn't executed.]]
* Agent Charlie Francis of ''{{Fringe}}''. After getting through the first season relatively unharmed, being established as [[ActionGirl Olivia]]'s {{Wingman}} and one of the major Agents in [[TheMenInBlack Fringe Division]], and surviving a M-Preg gone horribly wrong, we all assumed that Charlie had developed PlotArmor as one of the core characters. Then the writers [[DroppedABridgeOnHim have him killed]] by a shape-shifter who steals his form, who later dies anyways.
** This also happens to William Bell and Alt-Broyles.
** And then to [[TearJerker Lincoln.]] A funny, friendly {{Badass}} who adored Fauxlivia, won the hearts of the fangirls and survived getting blown up.
* Another J.J. Abrams' show, Series/{{Alias}}, does the same thing. Irony points, the character in ''Series/{{Alias}}'' who was replaced by an identical assassin was named Francie. Awfully similar to Francis, ain't it?
* Roughly 40% of the guest stars that featured on ''Series/RobinHood'', in particular Carter and Legrand.
* Varro on ''SpartacusBloodAndSand''.
* Pompey Magnus in ''{{Rome}}''. Of course, it wasn't a surprise to anyone who knew their history, but being killed halfway through the first season after the show had been focused entirely on the rivalry between him and Julius Caesar still makes it feel pretty abrupt.
* ''Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy'' did this in the second episode (two-part season premiere) with the character Mike, leaving his brother Leo to take his place as the Red Ranger for the season. While Leo was obviously TheHero of the story from the beginning, such things never happen in Franchise/PowerRangers.
** Kendrix's death towards the middle of the season came as quite a shocking conclusion to the ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'' crossover (caused due to the actress being diagnosed with leukemia and needing to leave for treatments). Both characters [[UnexplainedRecovery get better]].
* ''MahouSentaiMagiranger'' has [[ActionMom [=MagiMother=]]] fall in battle to [[BlackKnight Wolzard]] at the start of the second episode, leaving her children without her guidance in their battles against Infershia.
* In the fifth season of ''BurnNotice'', Max. They introduce him, give him strong characterization, show that he's one of the rare, unambiguously good guys, and then they kill the shit out of him. And frame Michael in the process.
** In a villainous example (with a show that likes to keep around [[JokerImmunity the really cool bad guys]]), Brennan is killed just before the season finale by another bad guy, "Dead" Larry.
* ''BoardwalkEmpire'' plays this trope hard in the second season finale when after seemingly having patched things up Nucky murders Jimmy after two seasons of him as the show's most important character besides Nucky himself.
* Just like his book counterpart, Eddard Stark of ''GameOfThrones''.
* ''SonsOfAnarchy'' sees the death of main character Jax's long-suffering and devoted best friend Opie Winston out of nowhere just '''three''' episodes into the fifth season.
* ''Franchise/KamenRider'' often inverts this trope to the villains, especially after Decade. They are usually offed by the end of the first quarter of the show, though there are some special cases...
** Kirihiko from ''KamenRiderDouble'' gets offed, though his Nasca Memory becomes a ChekhovsGun ''and'' a SuperMode for his killer late in the show.
** Mezool and Gamel from ''KamenRiderOOO'' are also offed, but thanks to Uva, they came back to life halfway into the show. As it turns out, Greeeds can only truly die if their conscious cores are destroyed, and soon, they get KilledOffForReal. A DoubleSubversion right there.
** Scorpio Zodiarts from ''KamenRiderFourze'' gets defeated... yet still hangs around for a few more episodes before he goes back into the fray again and gets defeated by the SecondRider. Despite living through that, Virgo comes and sends him to the Dark Nebula where he/[[SamusIsAGirl she]] [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse will never be seen again]].
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': Alicia Corwin, to establish Root's level of villainy.
* ''Series/{{Scandal}}'': Amanda Tanner and Gideon Wallace.
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[[folder: Video Games]]
* The Cheshire Cat from ''AmericanMcGeesAlice'' fits this trope very nicely, especially since the last bit of info he tries to impart is that the Queen of Hearts and Alice share the same mind.
* King from ''VideoGame/CaveStory''; Curly, if you don't save her.
* One GuestStarPartyMember in every [[TalesSeries Tales franchise]] installment with the sole exception of Phantasia.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'':
** [[MeaningfulName General Leo]].
** As does Emperor Gestahl, who finds out, to his dismay, that [[EvilerThanThou someone else]] gets to be the FinalBoss. He only fits this trope if you think he's a sympathetic character, though.
* Tai in ''GearsOfWar 2'' fits this mold. Much of the first act is building up his invincible nature and the second act shows how he survived brutal torture by the locust. It breaks him so badly he kills himself. Benjamin Carmine also fits the mold, surviving through the second act and having Marcus and the others noticeably saddened by his death. This is especially noticeable compared to his SacrificialLamb brother Anthony Carmine in the first game, who was killed by a [[KilledMidSentence random sniper shot]] in the first act.
* Harley in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga''. Originally the confident leader of one of the six ruling tribes of his world, the arrival of the Demon Virus triggered a general collapse of his entire command structure, not helped by the new powers the virus had given every member of his tribe. The calm leader turns into a frightened child when met for an intelligence exchange meeting and quickly devolves even further into a scared beast - all of it to show just how dangerous the virus truly is for the inhabitants of the Junkyard.
** This happens midway through the second game after the shit hits the fan and [[DwindlingParty you start losing party members]]; just to emphasize that this is a story where AnyoneCanDie, Serph, the ''freaking main character'', is the first person to get offed.
* Isara from ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles''.
* ''EternalDarkness'' is loaded with characters who could at least be considered this. At the very least Anthony is an undeniable SacrificialLion, and pretty good cases can also be made for Paul and Roberto - though oddly enough, all of these are among the ''[[ShootTheShaggyDog main characters]]''.
* Rhyme Bito in ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou''. Given the information of the instruction booklet, it looked like she would spend the whole game as TheMessiah.
** 777, Nao and Sota also serve as this, all of them surviving a fair way into the game and having CharacterDevelopment before they're offed.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/KingsQuestV'', in that Cedric has been Graham's sidekick for most of the game only to be struck down by Mordack at the very end, but not hard enough to kill him.
* Lars Halford in ''BrutalLegend''. He's initially in charge of LaResistance, and about halfway through the game he makes a bold stand against [[BigBad Emperor Doviculus]], declaring that he will lead the humans to rise up and defeat the [[TheLegionsOfHell Tainted Coil]]. Doviculus basically says "Can't let you do that" and [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim fatally stabs Lars where he stands]].
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'':
** The original AVALANCHE members, Biggs, Wedge, and Jesse, fill this role. They start off as your initial companions (although not as party members) and are given distinct personalities, but are then promptly killed following a botched attempt to save the Midgar slums.
** Aerith may be a far more definitive version, or possibly [[PlotlineDeath fall into another trope]].
* In ''{{Persona 3}}'', Shinjiro Aragaki was killed off to show just how evil Strega is, and to propel the CharacterDevelopment of Ken Amada and Akihiko Sanada, both of whom reach a degree of personal resolution and receive upgraded Personas as a result. Given that he's a well-balanced character and that he has his own personal weapon type that you can continue buying until the end of game (quite unlike most temporary guest characters), it can come as a bit of a shock.
* ''GuildWars'':
** Kehanni in ''Nightfall'', whose death is the catalyst for General Morgahn's HeelFaceTurn.
** To some extent, Rurik in ''Prophecies'', although curiously both he and the dwarves who kill him are forgotten almost immediately thereafter. You finally do end up fighting the dwarves much later in the game, although without mention of them being the guys responsible for Rurik's death.
** And while his popularity with the fans is debatable, Yijo Tahn serves the same role in ''Factions''. He goes through a few starting missions with you and is pretty much Togo's other star student...until he gets sent to help the victims of the plague and ends up as an Afflicted.
* Yoshimo from ''[[BaldursGate Baldur's Gate 2]]''. Mind you, ''you're'' the one who kills him, but showing that he's been an unwilling TheMole for the BigBad all along helps.
* ''FateStayNight'':
** [[strike:Saber]] All the Servants except Rider in the Heavens Feel route. It's a good thing they added about half a dozen characters to the main lineup for this one or we'd be down to Shirou and Tohsaka and no villain.
** Archer in the Fate route. Though the anime gave him [[DyingMomentOfAwesome his crowning moment here]], in the game it [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome happened offscreen]].
* The protagonists brother in ''RedFaction: Guerrilla''. He dies after the tutorial mission, conveniently after you have explained to him you just want to do "honest work" and "are not a terrorist". His death turns you into one. Not by choice.
* ''{{Halo 3}}'':
** Miranda Keyes. This definitely qualifies as a PlayerPunch also.
** And, a little later, Sergeant Johnson gets killed, just to remind you of Halo: Combat Evolved and of how annoying 343 Guilty Spark was and then rubbing it in your face when you think he may actually be able to redeem himself.
* ''CallOfDuty 4'':
** Sergeant Paul Jackson. Especially jarring because he is a viewpoint character.
** Ghost and Roach in the Sequel, who die just to prove how much of a bastard [[BigBad Shepherd]] is.
* Hawk in ''SoldierOfFortune''. You get to watch the BigBad execute him two thirds of the way through the game. Big PlayerPunch.
* Happens ''repeatedly'' in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' (to Josef, Minwu, Richard and Cid), to the point where the GBA EnhancedRemake (and every other one after it) had a bonus game, ''Dawn Of Souls'', made up entirely of playable characters who had died (and cameos from other non-playable characters who had also died), and now they're fighting on in the next life. In fact, parts of ''FFII'' felt more like a KillEmAll in a similar vein to [[AnyoneCanDie death-saturated]] stories like ''TheSilmarillion''.
* Tellah in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV''. Though his death was probably foreshadowed as an inevitability by the fact that Tellah's stats never go up (and sometimes decline) when he's LevelGrinding. He still manages to TakeALevelInBadass giving his last battle all he's got.
* Galuf in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV''. Though it wasn't as much a ''practical'' loss because, upon his death, all his abilities were instantly transferred to his granddaughter Krile, who continued his role in the party as if nothing had changed. Also, his death was remarkably similar to Tellah's in the previous example.
* Anyone who's played the series knows ''FireEmblem'' is an AnyoneCanDie series. However, ''Genealogy Of The Holy War'' gets MEAN with this. Upon hitting Chapter 5: Door to Destiny (Fitting name) you see 2 former party members die to a boss that you can't fight, but the real kick is when you clear that chapter -- you're treated to [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HNE87Taixc the "Battle" of Bahara]] -- and the death of not 1 character, but the death of damn near the ENTIRE CAST. AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent...
* During the Virmire mission in the first ''VideoGame/MassEffect'' game, two of your party members become [[MutuallyExclusivePartyMembers mutually exclusive]]. There is no way around it, and they'll both insist that you should have saved the other one afterwards. You can also lose Wrex, but that one's avoidable.
** The sequel has your entire original ship, several of its crew, and, best of all, ''you''. Later, your ship is attacked again, and nearly every member of your crew is taken. This time, however, you can rescue them.
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', being set in a galactic war, has several instances of this with your own party members, current and past. Your choices throughout all three games can defy some of these cases, however. There is one unavoidable case in Thane Krios, who's already dying of a terminal disease. He's one of the deadliest assassins in the galaxy, but his only role in the game is to be killed by Kai Leng after a quick one on one duel, thus demonstrating just how deadly and ruthless he and Cerberus can be.
*** There's also one other choice regarding the Genophage cure where you ''have'' to either martyr Mordin to cure the Krogans or refuse to finish the cure and instead kill Wrex after he becomes enraged at Shepard's betrayal of his trust. Plus, Captain Anderson, who's essentially been Shepard's mentor since the beginning of the original game, dies regardless of his/her actions... it just determines whether he dies quickly or manages to have one final poignant scene with Shepard before his death at the end.
* Briggs the pirate in ''GoldenSunDarkDawn''. Killed by the shadow monsters spawned by the Grave Eclipse, during the mission to rescue his son Eoleo (who then joins your party [[YouKilledMyFather to avenge him]]).
* Leo from ''TheWitcher''.
* Duncan from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' is introduced as TheObiWan after you lose everyone else in your Origin, only to be killed off a bit later, before he can even start acting this role.
* In ''BlazeUnion'', we have Siskier in route A, Luciana in route B, and Jenon in route C. Each route also has a few sympathetic enemy characters who serve a similar purpose, at least as far as showing the situation's direness goes.
* Several of the heroes in ''VideoGame/MortalKombat9'' play a large part of the overall story, only to be KilledOffForReal near the end to show how truly catastrophic the changes to the timeline has become.
* ''Left4Dead'''s Bill was one of the playable survivors in the first game. In "The Passing", his corpse can be found slumped up against a generator, his cigarette still in his mouth and his M-16, which you can loot for yourself, in his hands.
** In the DLC campaign [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "The Sacrifice"]] you can relive his last moments.
* Emma from ''TheLastRemnant'' dies in combat against the Conqueror when he single-handedly invades Athlum and steals their Remnant. The impact of her death is only slightly lessened by [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute the arrival of her]] [[SpinOffspring younger daughter Emmy]], who immediately replaces her.
* Almost all of the friendly {{Non Player Character}}s in ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' end up dying or going hollow, losing their humanity to the curse of the Undead in the ruins of Lordran.
* In one version of ''VideoGame/AoOni'', after evading the titular monster and navigating through its house, Hiroshi eventually reunites with his friends. As they debate whether or not the creature's real or some sort of ScoobyDooHoax, Takuro tries to take charge and tells everyone [[ThisIsNoTimeToPanic not to panic]]. Cue the Ao Oni [[DropInNemesis popping up]] and [[OffWithHisHead biting his head clean off]], effectively proving it's more than some guy in a suit.
* The While Guthix Sleeps quest in ''RuneScape'' has the player recruit a number of NPC warriors to help them stop a powerful and evil mage from achieving godhood. The [=NPCs=] are all known to the player, from other quests and skill training. Some of them are ones that the player might contact at least once a day. Out of the eight [=NPCs=] that confront the enemy mage, only two survive; one of those only because he is a demon with super healing. It's a gut punch of popular NPC death in a game where such things had previously been confined to one-time [=NPCs=] inside their own quest chain.
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3rd May '13 7:49:16 AM DavySprocket

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21st Apr '13 9:38:14 PM MerlinSyndrome

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None of these characters are sympathetic enough to qualify.

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21st Apr '13 12:00:39 PM thatother1dude

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