History Main / WhatASenselessWasteOfHumanLife

* As for ''Anime/CodeGeass'', Lelouch is responsible for Euphemia's death an episode after his Geass ability accidentally activates while he suggests that she kill all the Japanese for the sake of an example of how Geass works; she proceeds to kill all the Japanese who had registered for the Special Administrated Zone and issue orders to have them all executed shortly thereafter. In the middle of R2, Suzaku's command to live forces him to launch a [[FantasticNuke FLEIJA warhead]] to distract Kallen during the Second Battle of Tokyo, which causes the deaths of some 35,000,000 civilians. The clearest example of this is the scene in which Shirley is killed by Rolo, and her death accomplishes absolutely nothing; she didn't even have to die, they didn't have anything to gain from it, and Rolo still killed her. It would have been just as lovely an anime if they didn't die (if not even better than it was), but the fact that they did allows the protagonist to undergo character development so that the audience can understand how he thinks, and that those people are what truly mattered, and if they hadn't, the plot wouldn't have acknowledged the meaning their lives had.

* In ''LightNovel/KumoDesuGaNaniKa'' Julius regrets the death of Blow, a WorthyOpponent who also had a brother waiting at home. The nearby Shiraori instead respects Blow's death as proof of his determination and pride.

* In TheMovie of ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRings The Two Towers]]'', Faramir speaks a paraphrased version of the narration quoted above.

** Heck, even the [[TheNthDoctor First Doctor]] had such a moment -- the Daleks have just activated their superweapon, but instead of doing what they thought it would do, it ended up aging everything in the planet they were into dust. ''Everything''.

** The Italian dub has Peter, a member of [[TheFederation Omega]]'s SpacePolice, provide another one as he assists at the battle, concluding with "This is what happens when your leader is a madman". Given that the GloriousLeader of Cassiopeia, general Pest, is one of the best examples of AlwaysChaoticEvil in fiction, who dared to leave Omega only because he was sure the Humanoids were on ''his'' side and declared war on them just before they were supposed to deliver him a PlanetKiller (in fact ''he'' caused the Humanoids to be a threat, convincing them that [[WellIntentionedExtremist they had to rule on flesh and blood sentients to protect them from themselves]] when he approached them) and had [[DefiedTrope refused to]] [[EnemyMine rejoin Omega to fight the common enemy when the Humanoids revealed their true colours]], [[{{Understatement}} he has a point]][[note]]Not to mention to build a base using as workforce prisoners in a planet that orbits a star that can go supernova in any moment, ignoring the senators who warn him about the instability of said star, and once it blows up to send ships to rescue the hardware first and the workforce later.[[/note]]

-->-- ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', when Sam sees the body of a warrior of the Haradrim.

* Subverted in ''Film/LicenceToKill'', where Sharky has the memorable line: "What a terrible waste... of money." after Bond kills a man by tossing a briefcase containing two million dollars at him, knocking him and the money into a shark pool.

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} and the Actress'', where the civil war between Pompeius and Caesar is shown, and Asterix and Obelix are passing near the site of one ongoing battle. Obelix's reaction is that of "What a waste of life", but in the sense that every dead Roman means one less Roman he can't hit later.

* Inverted by ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft''. When [[LateArrivalSpoiler Illidan is killed]], he uses his dying words to mock Maiev, who has wasted her entire being on hunting him, and now has nothing left to live for.

* In VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas, CJ says a variation of this after [[spoiler:killing friend-turned-crack-pusher Smoke]].

* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight'' (and its remake, ''Shadow Dragon''), [[WorthyOpponent Camus's]] death by MyCountryRightOrWrong and HonorBeforeReason is treated as such. [[spoiler:Subverted: He comes BackFromTheDead in ''Videogame/FireEmblemGaiden'' and ''Videogame/FireEmblemMysteryOfTheEmblem'', and not only that, he actually joins you]].

-->'''Travis''': Fuck that. I wanna be hero. By my own standards.
-->'''Sylvia''': You need to wake up, Travis.
-->'''Travis''': Take your own goddamn advice.

---> Castor: I am not afraid to spend them, but I never waste men.

-->Mordin: Pointless. Pointless waste of life.
-->Shepard: Her, or the people who did this?

--> '''X:''' Such a waste... Why, Dragoon?
--> '''Dragoon:''' Always... wanted to... fight... you...

-->-- '''''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''''', when Sam sees the body of a warrior of the Haradrim.

* In Eddings' ''[[{{Belgariad}} Belgarath The Sorcerer]]'', after witnessing a large battle, Poledra reminds you she has NoSocialSkills with a simple line:

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Troy [=McClure=] appears in a ''Red Asphalt''-style traffic safety video, observing a car accident and uttering this line in a heavy tone of voice. Then he instantly brightens and goes into his usual introductory spiel.

* In ''VideoGame/BlackAndWhite2'', the good conscience says this word-for-word if you start killing your own villiagers. It seems to happen more often if your alignment is 'good'.

* In Black and White 2, the good conscience says this word-for-word if you start killing your own villiagers. It seems to happen more often if your alignment is 'good'.

** A version (of the trope, not of the Buster Call) is, surprisingly, pulled off by crybaby Coby at [[spoiler: Ace's execution after he is killed and the marines and pirates are still fighting.]]
*** Or rather [[spoiler: that the pirates have given up and started a retreat. But the Marines, lead by a war-mongering Akainu, press the attack. Eventually Coby can't take it anymore and yells for them to stop the senselessness of it all.]]

* ''Manga/MakenKi'' {{invert|edTrope}}s it, by having Leo try to reason with Takeru, ''[[http://readpanda.net/Maken-ki/57/20/ before]]'' he killed Gouken. Leo tried telling him that it wouldn't solve anything, since [[spoiler: [[BigBad Takeru Yamato]]]] would simply [[BodySurf possess a new body.]] Nor was is it what [[spoiler: Himegami]] would've wanted him to do. But Takeru was so enraged that he still did it anyway. In the end, it changed nothing. Gouken had simply been a victim [[http://readpanda.net/Maken-ki/57/25/ of Takeru's frustration.]]
* [[spoiler:Iserina]] from the Anime/MobileSuitGundam TV series tries to avenge the death of her boyfriend, [[spoiler: Garma Zabi]] She only ends up dead, and the White Base crew end up reflecting on how useless her RoaringRampageOfRevenge was.

** [[spoiler: Now even more senseless now that the [[EldritchAbomination Ten-Tails]] has been fully resurrected, albeit not at full power.]]

* In the Creator/DaleBrown novel ''Edge of Battle'', [[spoiler: Zakharov]] makes such a comment when he sees that [[spoiler: Frank Falcone]], who he believed was committed enough to do what had to be done, has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment and is DrivenToSuicide.

* In the ''Series/RedDwarf'' episode "Out Of Time", Kryten deploys the term in advance when, thanks to visiting time-travelers, he learns that Lister is going to [[spoiler: end up as a disembodied brain in a jar.]]

* Lino En Kuldes says this during the climax of ''VideoGame/SuikodenIV'', after watching [[spoiler: Troy choose to go down with his ship after losing a showdown with the hero]].

* Also said by Captain Boomerang in ''SuicideSquad'' after letting Mindboggler get gunned down from behind.

* In ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'', this is how X feels after defeating Magma Dragoon, since they had been allies for quite some time and Dragoon's only real reason for [[FaceHeelTurn going rogue]] was wanting a [[WorthyOpponent good fight with X]].

** Stated twice in ''VideoGame/FreeSpace'', both times in response to the commanders of crippled and severely outgunned capital ships who attempt to ram rather than surrender and get blown out of the sky for their troubles.

* Lino En Kuldes says this during the climax of ''SuikodenIV'', after watching [[spoiler: Troy choose to go down with his ship after losing a showdown with the hero]].

* In the DaleBrown novel ''Edge of Battle'', [[spoiler: Zakharov]] makes such a comment when he sees that [[spoiler: Frank Falcone]], who he believed was committed enough to do what had to be done, has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment and is DrivenToSuicide.

* In ''Franchise/FireEmblem: [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAkaneia The Dark Dragon and the Sword of Light]]'' (and it's remake, ''Shadow Dragon'') [[WorthyOpponent Camus's]] death by MyCountryRightOrWrong and HonorBeforeReason is treated as such. [[spoiler:Subverted:He comes BackFromTheDead in ''Gaiden'' and ''Mystery of the Emblem'', and not only that, he actually joins you]].