History Main / SurprisinglySuddenDeath

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Senba's Burai is sniped InTheBack by Gino in Turn 6 of R2, exploding and killing him.

* ''Anime/CrossAnge': [[RedShirt Coco Reeve]] is in the middle of cheerfully telling [[FallenPrincess Ange]] that she wants to go to the [[TheEmpire Misurugi Empire]] with her... then a Singularity opens up above them, and she suddenly ''[[BloodFromTheMouth vomits a torrent of blood]]'' when a [[OurDragonsAreDifferent DRAGON]] ''[[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe shears her and her Paramail in half with a beam of magic.]]''

* Happens at the end of the second episode of ''Anime/CrossAnge'' when Coco is killed by a portal opening.

* In ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'', Sarah Lynn dies while [[DiedInYourArmsTonight cuddled up against [=BoJack=]]], looking up at a shot of the stars in a planetarium. She'd been trying to get sober for nine months, but seeing [[PoisonousFriend [=BoJack=]]] again made her fall off the wagon again. Sarah Lynn openly acknowledged that her HardDrinkingPartyGirl lifestyle would eventually catch up with her, but [[IAmWhatIAm just grew to accept it after a while]]. She was right.

* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': uses this on occasion; during the Massacre Chapter, the [[TrueCompanions club]] have just [[HopeSpot dispatched the men pursuing them]], and decide to hijack their car to get Rika and Satoko to safety. The group run in to knock out the last few men, when a shot rings out, and Keiichi suddenly falls over. The manga completely averts this however, by having Hanyuu stop time before the bullet hits so everyone can contemplate what to do when it inevitably hits Keiichi (when she stops time, it's inches from his chest).

* Desti's death in the [[Machinima/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64BloopersTheAnimeArc Anime Arc]] of ''[[Machinima/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]]'' , where she's stabbed InTheBack by a fake [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]] while she and the rest of the gang are celebrating over kicking another fake Sephiroth's ass, forgetting that the BigBad could just [[MookMaker make another]]. Adding to the shock is that her death is [[KilledOffForReal played completely seriously]] when nearly every other death in the show is [[TheyKilledKennyAgain done and undone for laughs]].

** In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' Sirius is killed unexpectedly when he falls through a veil that separates the living from the dead when struck be a stunning spell from Bellatrix right after Dumbledore arrives and Harry and Neville think they're all saved and the fighting is dying down.

* A tragic example of this occurs in the Pokémon fanfiction "http://bloogum.net/old/nido01.html": After they spend the whole afternoon training, a family of baby Nidoran decide to take a nap in order to regain their energy after trying to learn the move Leer. Their peaceful sleep is suddenly interrupted when they hear a piercing loud scream and they abruptly wake up only to discover that a wild Growlithe snuck up to them while they were sleeping and mauled their little sister Aamu. And while they stare in horror, frozen in fear, the Growlithe also rips their little brother Kukka to shreds.It's unexpected as it's heartbreaking.

* A tragic example of this occurs in the Pokémon fanfiction "Black Albino": After they spend the whole afternoon training, a family of baby Nidoran decide to take a nap in order to regain their energy after trying to learn the move Leer. Their peaceful sleep is suddenly interrupted when they hear a piercing loud scream and they abruptly wake up only to discover that a wild Growlithe snuck up to them while they were sleeping and mauled their little sister Aamu. And while they stare in horror, frozen in fear, the Growlithe also rips their little brother Kukka to shreds.It's unexpected as it's heartbreaking.

* "Fanfic/Black Albino": After they spend the whole afternoon training, the young Nidoran decide to take a nap in order to regain their energy after trying to learn Leer. Suddenly, they hear a piercing loud scream and they abruptly wake up only to discover that a wild Growlithe snuck up to them while they were sleeping and mauled their little sister Aamu.

* Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 has the death of Michael Trinity at the hands of Ali Al-Saachez. When the Trinity siblings are stranded on an island, they meet Ali, who shoots Michael almost instantly after a conversation. His brother and sister are shocked.

* In book fourteen of ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', ''{{Literature/Cold Days}}'', Lily, the Summer Lady, gets shot in the head by Maeve with no warning. Bonus points for [[DidntSeeThatComing nobody]], not even [[TheChessmaster Mab]], [[DidntSeeThatComing seeing it coming]].

* In ''VideoGame/{{Doom 3}}'', you're introduced to the Lost Souls through the horrific death of a female scientist, whose head rips itself off her body to become the monster in question.

* At the end of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition's'' Trespasser, Solas and his enemy the Viddasala speak, after which Solas turns and walks away. The Viddasala prepares to throw a spear at him and without turning or reacting in any way, Solas' eyes glow and the Viddasala immediately turns to stone. Even though the player knew he was Fen'Harel and she had no chance, it's still an OhCrap moment to see just how powerful he is. It's even moreso for the Inquisitor, who witnesses this unaware of Solas' identity or power.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', just before entering GNR, Initiate [[RedShirt Reddin]] gets this treatment courtesy of a Super Mutant Behemoth.

* ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'' mission "Just Like Old Times" has Soap and Price abseiling from a mountain road for some DeathFromAbove on Shadow Company mooks.

* Done a bit elaborately, but for the same dramatic effect, in the intro of ''VideoGame/{{Mass Effect 2}}''. The very first thing that happens in the game is a huge alien ship coming out of nowhere, immediately shooting your trusty ship from the first game to pieces. There's nothing to do but abandon ship and watch the ship disintegrate around you while rescuing the pilot. Then they fire again, blowing it up and sending you flying down towards the planet in a leaking space suit, struggling to breathe and eventually stopping. It really works perfectly in establishing the new villains of the game and instantaneously wanting to destroy them, without any mention of who they actually are.

* Episode 1 of ''VideoGame/TelltalesGameOfThrones'' ends with [[spoiler: [[WouldHurtAChild Ramsay Bolton unceremoniously stabbing Ethan Forrester through the neck.]] He dies from blood loss in less than a minute.]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'' none of the characters are safe from being killed without warning.

* Mac's death in Chapter One of ''Literature/{{Antlers Colorado}}'' happens unexpectedly just as her and Austin start to become friends, and it seems that she's becoming more of a main character.

In ''Literature/TheRiseofKyoshi'' Lek dies from an allergic reaction to a poison with no buildup or fanfare.

* [[FanNickname "Bikini Girl"]] from ''Film/PlanetOfTheDinosaurs'': It is less than thirty seconds from the time she ''starts'' to strip down to her bikini to the time she's eaten by a monster.

** Orochi. One panel, he's realizing Kaido has his own plans for Wano that run contrary to his own, the next panel he's merely ''starting'' to voice his objections... and the panel after that his head's flying off his shoulders from a sword swipe from Kaido. The latter then continues his speech like he didn't just kill the shogun and one of his key pieces in the whole scheme.

* The first ''Film/ResidentEvil'' movie does this not only one, not twice, not even three times but four times.

* In ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'' we meet Sakura Minamoto, an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent with dreams of becoming an IdolSinger. The first minute of the show is a typical morning, where she listens to the usual music, gets ready to start a perfectly normal day at school, and is killed by a speeding truck. Of course, [[OurZombiesAreDifferent that's only the beginning of her story...]]