Line #57 YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness/AnimeAndManga


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6	'''Warning: Often serves as a {{Death Trope\|s}}, and frequently involves spoilers.'''
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8	Times where villains aim to [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness eliminate some no-longer necessary minions or other loose ends]] in {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}.
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10	* ''Manga/AfterGod'': Ahu'az disposes of [[spoiler:Yon]] the moment it becomes apparent Waka's eyes had an effect on her.
11	* In the anime adaptation of ''Literature/AiNoKusabi'', this overlaps with RewardedAsATraitorDeserves. [[spoiler:Iason has successfully used former Bison gang member Kirie to sell out and destroy the gang in a BatmanGambit. When Kirie shows up to collect his reward money, he's instead taken by an android posing as Iason. He's not killed, but his ''[[{{Brainwashed}} mind is altered]]'' and he's turned into an unthinking and obedient [[SexSlave Pet]].]]
12	* In ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'', this is the ultimate fate of ''all'' Warriors. When their [[YourDaysAreNumbered Tenure]] is close to ending and their powers begin to wane, a successor is selected to [[EatenAlive eat]] them in order to inherit their powers. Should a Warrior act out or make mistakes, their superiors will consider whether to end their Tenure ''early''. It's revealed that [[spoiler:Reiner Braun]] narrowly avoided this fate after failing his mission. It took 4 years of exceptional military service on the front lines to get his superiors to allow him to finish his Tenure.
13	* ''Literature/{{Baccano}}'':
14	** This is common with Szilard, who considers anybody to be disposable, including homunculi created from his own cells, to misfit gangsters given an incomplete immortality serum ''just'' to ensure that they are easy to dispose of -- if you think that's a contradiction, you need to watch the show.
15	** [[FrenchJerk Huey]] also views the Lemeurs, including his own doting daughter, as this.
16	* Emperor Barodius, the third BigBad from ''Anime/{{Bakugan}}'', was a big fan of this as well as YouHaveFailedMe. If he didn't kill you, he'd [=brainwash=] you instead.
17	** Mag Mel, the BigBad after Barodius, outright told his CoDragons when he created them that the moment they were no longer of use to him, their lives would end. [[spoiler:When Mistress Sellon actually does outlive her usefulness, he promptly kills her in an absolutely chilling way as she's pleading for him to spare her, then [[DevourTheDragon eats her energy to fuel himself]]. He then does the exact same thing to Anubias in the next episode.]]
18	** Back in the first season, Masquerade also subjected his original Bakugan Partner Reaper to this after he got his hands on the significantly stronger Hydranoid. During a 2-on-1 brawl against Dan and Shun, Masquerade ends up putting both Reaper and Hydranoid on a gate card that only allows one Bakugan to survive, and then sends Reaper to the Doom Dimension. When Dan calls him out on it, Masquerade merely replies that Reaper's ''services are no longer needed''.
19	* In ''Anime/BattleGirlsTimeParadox'', Ieyasu acquires the Crimson Armor and goes mad with power. She declares she doesn't need her minions anymore and blasts them out of the building. Despite this, they remain loyal to her, and return to her service when she is defeated and the armor is destroyed.
20	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
21	** The BigBad of the first half, [[spoiler:Sosuke Aizen]], does this to three characters [[spoiler:(Momo Hinamori, Rukia Kuchiki, and Tier Harribel)]] at different times. [[spoiler:And yet all three of them survived.]]
22	** Likewise, the BigBad of the Bount filler arc loved doing this, to the point where "you were just pawns" almost seems like his CharacterCatchphrase.
23	** During the Lost Agent arc, the reader learns that [[spoiler:Soul Society]] planned to do this to [[spoiler:Ichigo]], namely by using them as bait to lure out [[spoiler:Kugo Ginjo]] and then kill both. [[spoiler:However, after Ichigo defeated Aizen]], they changed their minds, to the point that [[spoiler:the entire Gotei 13 loaned some of their reiatsu to restore his powers just in time for Ichigo to defeat Kugo]].
24	** Furthermore, the BigBad of the second half of the series, [[spoiler:Yhwach, kills Luders Friegen after the latter finished his task]].
25	** One of the Sternritters, Robert Accutrone, panics on realizing their leader [[spoiler:Yhwach]] has left them behind. That means they're no longer useful to him and are nothing more than [[spoiler:fodder for [[ThePurge his Auswählen]], his energy absorption ability, which subsequently kills said subordinate and several others. Out of the targeted Ritters, only three (Liltotto, Giselle and Bazz-B) managed to dodge it and survive.]]
26	** In the climax of the final arc, [[spoiler:Yhwach suddenly decides he doesn't need ''any'' of his subordinates and performs another Auswählen to wipe them all out.]] That turned out to bite him in the ass, however, [[spoiler:as not only did it save the Soul Reapers and Uryuu from dying at the hands of two of the most powerful Sternritters, but Haschwalth chooses in his dying moments to heal Uryuu's near-fatal wounds, which allows him to fuck up Yhwach at the critical moment Ichigo needs to finish him off.]]
27	* Alphard from ''Anime/{{Canaan}}'' simply decides to [[spoiler:discard Liang Qi by deliberately leaving her behind in a building that is about to be bombed]]. [[spoiler:Liang Qi]] survives the betrayal, but [[spoiler:[[VillainousBreakdown boy howdy does she ever lose it]]]].
28	* In ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'', the organization GREMLIN tends to do this to its low-level members. GREMLIN considers anybody who isn't privy to the organization's true objectives to be expendable.
29	* In ''"Cheat Skill "Shisha Sosei" ga Kakusei Shite, Inishie no Maougun wo Fukkatsu Sasete Shimaimashita"'', the main character Licht pretty much gave his party members NighInvulnerability with his special ability Resurrection. It was essentially SaveScumming. However, now that they’ve been TaughtByExperience and no longer screw up and die during the quests, they see his ability as worthless. No longer wanting to share rewards, they tipped the king off to his ability and the king ordered his death.
30	* In ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'', [[BigBad Priscilla]] tells [[spoiler:Raki]] that he has outlived his usefulness to her and that she is [[IAmAHumanitarian hungry after seven years of not eating]]... [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope and saves his life from the Destroyer's rods.]]]]
31	** In general, this is also the Organization's attitude toward Claymores who have become too old, troublesome or [[HeKnowsTooMuch know too many things]].
32	* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' has its AntiHero protagonist, [[TheChessmaster Lelouch]], do this with mind-controlled enemies. [[CombatPragmatist Somewhat justified by pragmatism.]] One of the occasions he doesn't really comes back to bite him in the ass on more than a few occasions.
33	** [[spoiler:Then, as a subversion, his "allies" do it to ''him'' when they are convinced that he's brainwashed them all. They get away with it, too... sort of.]]
34	** At the beginning of R2 [[spoiler:Lelouch is stripped of his memories by Charles and used in a plan to lure out C.C., so when the Britannian soldiers find C.C., they plan to kill Lelouch since he's fulfilled his purpose]]. Invoked early on by Charles when he declares Lelouch and Nunnally weak and has them sent as bargaining chips to Japan, which is subsequently invaded with them still there. Lelouch survives, [[ItsPersonal but now he's really pissed.]] [[spoiler:It's later revealed that Charles did this not to use them, but to hide them from his murderous and deceitful immortal brother, V.V.]]
35	* In ''Anime/CrossAnge'', BigBad [[AGodAmI Embryo]] does this a lot. When he buys the loyalty of his thralls through kind and selfless acts, he will shed no tears should he decide to leave them, and intends the [[OmnicidalManiac destruction of everyone, including them]]. He even did this to [[BrokenAce Jill]] before the story began, and later ends up [[HeroKiller killing her]] in the penultimate episode despite her being his old girlfriend. He even leaves the [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Diamond Rose Knights]] on his own so he can try and catch [[FallenPrincess Ange]] so he may force her to marry him; this results in [[MauveShirt Tanya and Irma]] both being brutally killed by the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent DRAGONs]], and [[TheChosenWannabe Salia]] and [[ShrinkingViolet Chris]] to [[FreakOut go]] [[VillainousBreakdown completely]] [[SanitySlippage bonkers]] when they realize [[EtTuBrute they were just used by a man they thought cared for them]].
36	* In ''Manga/DeathNote'', this is is the fate of almost everyone used by [[VillainProtagonist Light Yagami]], even if they are close to him, so that he can safely cover his tracks after they had served their purpose. Also the fate of many pawns that served under TheMafia group of Mello, especially when they were trying to get the titular ArtifactOfDoom. Surprisingly, the last use of the trope in the story wasn't done by either of those two, but by [[spoiler:Ryuk on Light himself because Light had been permanently stopped from killing and thus no longer held his interest -- reminding us that, despite his personality as a lovable goof, Ryuk is still a {{Shinigami}} to the core]].
37	* ''Manga/DigimonVTamer01'': Etemonkey, an Etemon, was Daemon's second in command, and a huge pain in the ass for Taichi and Zero. And then, within eight pages of [=Neo Saiba=]'s debut, he Jogresses Devimon and Ogremon and kills him.
38	** ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'': Upon his rebirth, [=VenomMyotismon=] promptly devours Demidevimon, his sole remaining loyal minion. He also does this quite famously to Arukenimon in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''.
39	** ''Anime/DigimonTamers'' features a non-villainous example: Renamon strings along the Deva Vajramon (who has an interest in her) in order to get information regarding his master. Once she has the information, she basically tells him to get lost (and ends up destroying him after digivolving into Taomon).
40	* In ''Anime/DotHackSign'': Morganna attacks Tsukasa after Tsukasa brings Subaru to the hidden area where Aura was held. This too used an alternate phrase, "I don't need you anymore."
41	* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
42	** In the first ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' arc, Vegeta kills his longtime partner Nappa because he was no longer useful since Goku had paralyzed him.
43	** Invoked verbatim by Perfect Cell in the English dub of Kai, spoken about his Cell Games ring, of all things.
44	** Demon King Piccolo back in ''Manga/DragonBall'', in regards to Pilaf, Mai, and Shu after they set him free and helped him gather the Dragon Balls to restore his youth. He unceremoniously threw the hapless trio out of their airship.
45	** Babidi's EstablishingCharacterMoment is having Spopopvich and Yamu executed on the spot as soon as they give him Gohan's siphoned Ki. The Supreme Kai even states outright that Babidi ''always'' has his minions killed when he doesn't need them anymore. Amusingly enough, when Babidi finds out they brought him far more energy than he thought they did, he thinks he didn't give them enough credit and maybe he should have kept them around after all, though he just shrugs and thinks it's still no big deal. Later, Babidi lets Buu kill Dabura for similar reasons, and this ultimately contributes to Babidi's end when Buu turns on him- with no minions left to save him, Babidi is swiftly killed.
46	** In ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF'', Freeza kills all 1000 of his own {{Mooks}} with a single attack after they're defeated by the Z-Fighters. ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'' changed this by instead having them get caught in the energy released when Freeza assumes his true form, but considering who we're talking about he'd probably label it a happy accident.
47	* In ''Manga/ExcelSaga'', Il Palazzo [[spoiler:abandons Excel to die on a desert island, and throws Elgala out on the street once she reveals she knows Competent!Excel is an imposter. She then uses a corpse-like Hyatt's authorization to regain access to the base, a long while later.]]
48	* [[ArcVillain Brain]] from ''Manga/FairyTail'' pulled this on [[PoisonousPerson Cobra]] after the later's failure to defeat [[TheHero Natsu]]. This was bad for two reasons: One, Cobra was just about to kill a barely conscious Natsu, who would go on to defeat Brain [[spoiler:or rather, his SuperpoweredEvilSide, Zero]], and two, Cobra survived [[spoiler:and after the TimeSkip, would pay Brain back [[EtTuBrute full-force]] in front of the other members of their group after they were released (through Cobra's own actions at that) from prison, with not a single one caring.]] Probably should have thought that one through better.
49	* As the trope image shows, the Homunculi from ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' are prolific perpetrators of this trope, [[TokenGoodTeammate Greed]] being the exception.
50	** In one of the translations, Lust actually says this line to-a-T to Cornello in the first volume of the manga... Right before she impales his head with her ultimate spear (See page image). In the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003 2003 anime]], Gluttony eats Cornello instead, but the idea is the same.
51	** Also, in the 2003 anime, [[spoiler:[[BigBad Dante]]]] does this to anyone who she [[BodySurf surfs into]]. [[spoiler:Lyra]] learned this [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe the hard way]].
52	** An example of the "more useful dead" variation: [[spoiler:the gold-toothed alchemist]] was in charge of readying the five sacrifices needed for the Promised Day. [[spoiler:When he fails to get Mustang to perform human transmutation and as such become the fifth and final sacrifice, Wrath and Pride swoop in, mortally wound the doc, and use him as the raw material in a transmutation that they force upon Mustang.]]
53	** [[spoiler:[[BigBad Father]] tries this on Hohenheim, Roy, Izumi, and the Elric brothers after they have fulfilled their role as his "sacrifices". Luckily, Hohenheim is able to protect them all with the power of his philosopher's stone.]]
54	** The sheer extent that the Homunculi do this really can't be overstated: They regularly have scientists develop new methods of producing Philosophers Stones, then murder them all, and [[HumanResources use them as the ingredients for said new stones]]. They slaughter all of Greed's henchmen when they side with Greed after he splits from them. Greed himself is [[spoiler:destroyed and recreated without his memories]] for refusing to work for them. [[spoiler:Kimblee]] is absorbed by Pride when the latter decides his only remaining use is as a power booster. Barry the Chopper does a HeelFaceTurn expressly because he understands that they're going to murder him once he's not useful anymore. Most notably, [[spoiler:the military high command has been promised that when Father [[HumanSacrifice activates the nationwide transmutation circle for the mass human sacrifice]], they'll be in the safe zone and become gods with him; when the time actually comes, Father doesn't even bother trying to inform them and simply begins the ritual, having always intended for them to die with everybody else.]]
55	* Nakago of ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'' does this to one of his fellow Seiryuu warriors after he receives the MacGuffin he was ordered to steal (although this is partly because the man's "human form" was killed, making him little more than a smart wolf).
56	* In Chapter 81 of ''Manga/GunslingerGirl'', Giacomo Dante has been captured and the Turin facility secured, [[spoiler:then tanks roll in, PFC Aprea is arrested and the SWA is being told to surrender to the military. Turns out, the Prime Minister now seeks to pin the whole incident on the SWA and get them labelled an anti-government organization.]]
57	* In ''Gushing Over Magical Girls'', [[spoiler:Once Lord Enorme has served her purpose of having Utena and co.'s magical powers grow stronger, Venalita orders Sister Gigant to crush her former boss to death.]]
58	* Hakuron from ''Manga/HaouAiren'' does this ''several'' times. It's very, ''very'' bitterly lampshaded by Reilan right before he shoots her dead [[spoiler:for setting up his current girlfriend Kurumi to be gangraped]].
59	--> '''Reilan:''' "Kurumi! Take a good look at him! This is the fate destined to those who aren't useful to Hakuron anymore!"
60	* ''Manga/InoHeadGargoyle'': After Takeshi gets identified by the police and they raid his apartment, the leader of the Blue Rose gang says he'll have to pay for his mistake with his life. He shows up in Tokyo Bay the next day.
61	* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
62	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStardustCrusaders Stardust Crusaders]]'': DIO decides that Enya had outlived her usefulness after she was defeated and sends Steely Dan to kill her to protect the secret of his Stand even though she hadn't disclose it even as she was dying.
63	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable Diamond is Unbreakable]]'': In a reverse take on this; Akira Otoishi, one of the several Stand Users struck by Keicho Nijimura's arrow, kills Keicho after considering he's made enough Stand Users for his desires and takes the arrow for his own amusements.
64	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureGoldenWind Golden Wind]]'': Melone uses a random woman to create Baby Face's Junior, and he has no problem with letting it eat her after it's been born.
65	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean Stone Ocean]]'': After Johngalli A. incapacitates Jotaro along with another person's Stand, Whitesnake, [[YourSoulIsMine who had converted Jotaro's soul into a disc and took it out of him]], swipes Johngalli A.'s gun and shoots him in the head, killing the only person in the world who knew his User's identity.
66	** ''[[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureJojolion JoJolion]]'': Poor Tom neglected to tell Jobin that he'd be in range of Ozon Baby's devastating abilities once he received the branch. He gets the same treatment when his allies shoot him and take the fake branch.
67	* ''Anime/KillLaKill'': Once her EvilPlan is entering its final stages, [[BigBad Ragyo Kiryuin]] "rewards" all the employees of her [[MegaCorp company]] by gathering them up at headquarters and [[HumanResources feeding them all]] to Life Fiber COVERS, having decided their only remaining use is as PowerUpFood. Not long after, she does nearly the exact same thing to [[spoiler:her [[TheDragon Dragon]] Nui Harime as part of a last ditch effort to defeat the heroes and salvage the plan. Unlike the aforementioned employees, Nui is [[AxCrazy crazy]] and [[UndyingLoyalty blindingly loyal]] enough to accept outliving her usefulness gladly, even [[DrivenToSuicide doing the deed on Ragyo's behalf by chopping her own head off]].]]
68	* Subverted in ''Anime/MacrossFrontier''. Various baddies attempt to do so a couple of times, but [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption it always fails]].
69	* In ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', [[spoiler:Due, after killing Regius]] tells Zest that his "usefulness and (his) revenge are at an end". [[spoiler:In an inversion of the typical result of this trope, ''Zest'' kills ''her'']].
70	* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': In Episode 31, three workers of the Photon Atomic Research Institute were kidnapped by TheDragon and hypnotized in piloting the latest batch of [[{{Robeast}} Mechanical Beasts]] BigBad Dr. Hell had built (Megaron P1, P2, and P3). However one of the weapons of Megaron generated such a heat blast would surely kill whoever was sitting in the cockpit. Hell and Ashura knew the three men surely would die during the battle, but as long as they died ''after'' they would have fulfilled their purpose, they did not care.
71	* In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'', General Septem is tricked by Lady Une on behalf of OZ to give a live speech (aboard a plane fleeing the attack of the New Edwards Base) condemning peace with the space colonies and reaffirming Earth's resolve to the war. After ending the broadcast, Lady Une calmly and politely informs the General that his "services were no longer required," immediately before [[ThrownFromTheZeppelin opening a hatch under his seat]]. ''[[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill Then shooting him in the head on his way down]]''.
72	%% please elaborate * ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam00'''s Ribbons Almark does this quite a bit.
73	* In ''Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam'', AxCrazy Fuala gets a pilot to help her in a plan against Uso's Gundam. [[spoiler:After the plan succeeds, she shoots the pilot in the face. Ironically, the pilot was named Kill.]]
74	* This is standard procedure for Johan in ''Manga/Monster1994''. Anyone who's come into contact with him for whatever reason tend to die shortly after their role has been played.
75	* In ''Anime/MyHime'', the Obsidian Lord does this with his First District followers, including the OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness, [[spoiler:by having [[TheDragon Nagi]] tell Shizuru where they are, and she kills them for Natsuki's sake]].
76	* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
77	** At the very start of the story, Mizuki manipulates Naruto into stealing the scroll of forbidden jutsu, then plans on disposing of Naruto once he's done. Thankfully, [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Naruto defeats Mizuki using the technique he learned]].
78	** Orochimaru does this to two members of the Sound Genin team, [[spoiler:using them as living sacrifices required for the Edo Tensei technique.]] The third (and smartest) realized that Orochimaru saw them as {{Unwitting Pawn}}s before this and decided he would try and [[SpannerInTheWorks throw a wrench into his plans]] as payback... but picked the wrong way to do it and got killed, with Kabuto commenting that he had outlived his usefulness long ago just like the others.
79	** This trope comes back to haunt Orochimaru himself later as [[spoiler:Sasuke absorbs him after having learned everything that he could.]]
80	** Sasuke also does this later with [[spoiler:Karin when Danzo uses her as a human shield.]]
81	** Before the start of the Fourth Ninja World War, Tobi does this to [[spoiler:Konan, in order to grab Nagato's Rinnegan.]]
82	** During the Jubi revival arc, [[spoiler:Madara has Black Zetsu take control of Obito's body in order to fully revive Madara. Obito escapes the first attempt but not the second]].
83	** [[spoiler:Madara himself ends up becoming victim to this when Black Zetsu literally backstabs him and reveals that he's actually working for Kaguya Otsutsuki.]]
84	* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', despite having successfully held off the [[spoiler:Ala Rubra till the ceremony to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt was over, the BigBad in a sneak attack shot both Nagi and Primum through the chest with a high piercing DeathRay]]. This wasn't due to [[spoiler:[[WeHaveReserves Primum being a casualty in the way]], because of the way the two were facing: Nagi's back turned to the direction of the on-coming attack]]. By the way that [[spoiler:Nagi had {{Neck Lift}}ed Primum, he likely watched the {{Black Cloak}}ed villain as the beam was fired, [[TechnicallyASmile smiling]] as it did]].
85	** [[spoiler:And then he did the exact same thing with Fate and Negi, after Fate had decided to stop fighting Negi.]]
86	* The ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' OVA has the ManBehindTheMan say this almost word for word when offing [[spoiler:the scientist that he blackmailed into recreating the Evil Gods]].
87	* Happens in ''Manga/NuraRiseOfTheYokaiClan'' to both subordinates and {{Unwitting Pawn}}s. In order:
88	** [[spoiler:Tamazuki kills Hari Onna unceremoniously in order to boost the power of the Mao's Hammer.]]
89	** [[spoiler:As soon as Hagoromo Gitsune succeeds in giving birth to Abe no Seimei again, Seimei himself throws her down to hell. Hagoromo returns in the final arc, understandably less than pleased with him, [[LaserGuidedKarma and proves instrumental in bringing about his death]].]]
90	** [[spoiler:Despite orchestrating almost every major threat in the series up until that point, Sanmoto's Brain is betrayed by Enchou upon the latter seeing how useless he is.]]
91	* ''Manga/OnePiece'':
92	** In the very first chapter, Higuma, having incurred the wrath of Shanks and his men by threatening to kill Shanks' young friend Luffy, escapes to sea with Luffy as a hostage. Confident that he's far enough away, he decides to throw Luffy overboard and let him drown, since he no longer needs Luffy and wants to make Luffy pay for angering him. Moments later, the Lord of the Coast eats Higuma.
93	** Although no special line is used, this is the reason Captain Kuro tries to kill his entire crew, since he no longer needs them, and can't allow anyone who knows his [[SecretIdentity true identity]] to live.
94	** This also happened to Nico Robin when she was Miss All-Sunday, TheDragon for Baroque Works. Might be {{subverted}}, since she never intended to give her boss, Crocodile, the information he wanted anyway.
95	*** Not that Crocodile is a stranger to this trope himself. You're dead to him if you fail once, and if you're lucky you ''might'' get a second chance, but there's no way in hell a third's coming. Only [[NumberTwo Mr. 1 Daz Bonez]] is exempt from this, mostly because he's the only subordinate Crocodile actually ''likes''.
96	** The World Government does this to Gecko Moria, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea (powerful pirates that work for the government) after the Marineford War, due to both his poor performance in said war and his previous defeat at the hands of Luffy, deeming him too weak to be effective as a Warlord. He does manage to escape, however.
97	** In the Dressrossa Arc, in the B Block matches of the tournament, the contestants from Prodence form an alliance with the others, then when their allies grow weak, start picking them off so that their king will be the one who advances onward. Unfortunately, for them, one of them, Blue Gilly, realizes what they're up to, and defeats Dagama when Dagama tries to literally and figuratively stab Blue Gilly in the back, saying "I can't fathom who would be stupid enough to trust a slimy toad like you in the first place!!!"
98	** Charlotte "Big Mom" Linlin has a tendency to cast aside the fathers of her many offspring once she gives birth to said children. The Straw Hats meet Pound, whom Big Mom abandoned before he could even properly meet his children, [[spoiler:Chiffon and Lola]].
99	** [[PersonOfMassDestruction Kaido]] works with [[BigBadWannabe Kurozumi Orochi]] to get control over Wano, a proper base, and a steady weapon supply. After getting everything he needs and deciding he's ready to [[OmnicidalManiac declare war on the whole world]], Kaido decides to make Wano the new base of his operations, re-christening it as "New Onigashima"; and when Orochi protests, he immediately and casually [[OffWithHisHead cleaves Orochi's head off]]. Orochi, however, survives -he only got one of his ''eight'' snake heads cleaved- and wants payback.
100	** During the latest Reverie, the kings and queens of the World Government's member nations vote to abolish the Seven Warlords of the Sea, after which their frozen bounties are immediately reinstated and updated. The biggest reason this happens (besides the fact that at least two Warlords have abused their positions to bring entire countries to the brink of ruin in the past) is because [[WorldsSmartestMan Vegapunk]] and the Special Science Group under his command have developed a new weapon powerful enough to replace the Seven Warlords (no mean feat, considering [[OneManArmy how powerful the Seven Warlords are]]). [[spoiler:Said weapon, the [[SuperSoldier Seraphim]], are the latest iteration of the [[ArtificialHuman Pacifista]] program: [[ModifiedClone clones of the original Seven Warlords spliced]] with [[UltimateLifeform Lunarian]] DNA and augmented with {{cyb\|org}}ernetics, [[EnergyWeapon laser beams]] and [[SuperhumanTransfusion artificially replicated Devil Fruit powers]]. Vegapunk does not exaggerate when he calls them "the strongest form of humanity."]] Knowing the kind of pull they have on worldwide politics, the Five Elders likely only allowed the Seven Warlords to be abolished because their replacement is [[CompellingVoice fully under their control]].
101	* ''Anime/PrettyCure'': Bel from ''Anime/DokiDokiPrecure'' pulls this on Leva and Gula in [[Recap/DokiDokiPrecureEp31TheLovelyPadIsBorn Episode 31]] when they got weakened from their battle against Precure that he absorbs their dark energy, killing them off.
102	* ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' provides many non-lethal examples:
103	** In ''Manga/PokemonAdventures'', Archie rewards his very loyal and very competent henchman, who successfully managed to steal the Blue Orb for him and is now inside a submarine, asking for a hand up, by sending the sub off after removing the device that equalized the pressure inside, effectively leaving the poor guy for dead. Apparently it would have been too much of an effort to pull him up. The henchman barely manages to make it to the surface but sadly, he goes in denial, refusing to believe that his boss abandoned him, and fights on to make sure no one stops Kyogre.
104	*** Cyrus is just as big an example, ignoring his loyal Admins to go into the world he intended to create.
105	** In [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries the anime]], we have Paul. When a Pokémon of his doesn't perform up to his expectations, it is released back into the wild.
106	*** Not as extreme an example, but in ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'', Mewtwo has put the local Nurse Joy under [[{{Brainwashed}} mind control]] to act as a sort of greeter to the people he has lured onto New Island, and upon revealing himself and sending one of the guests who tried to attack him flying through the room, he tells Nurse Joy her usefulness has ended and lifts her from the mind control to face her fate with the rest of the humans. Granted, Mewtwo was more of an AffablyEvil Pokemon than a BadBoss, but this is still an example.
107	*** In a two-part episode, [[GoldfishPoopGang Team Rocket]] helps an EvilChancellor depose a rightful king and take over the Kingdom. When the trio try to collect their reward from him, he tells them that he no longer needs them and blasts them away. They respond by pulling a brief HeelFaceTurn and secretly helping Ash and his friends restore the king.
108	* [[spoiler:Genkishi]] from ''Manga/Reborn2004'' had this happen to him seemingly just to show that people can actually die.
109	** And Xanxus kept apparently [[BadBoss doing this to all of his underlings]] whenever they lost matches with Tsuna's guardians, [[EvilLaugh laughing]] about how they're trash... only for it to be revealed that not a single one of them actually ''did'' die.
110	* ''Manga/RosarioPlusVampire'': Gyokuro implies at one point that she'll do this to Akua, claiming she can't actually trust her because Akua is only her ''adoptive'' daughter. Ironically, she herself is subjected to this at the hands of the Masked Man, the ''real'' leader of Fairy Tale, who instead of saving her from being consumed by Alucard when he could easily have done so, stands back and watches her die.
111	* ''Manga/SailorMoon'':
112	** In the Episode 13 of the original series, Queen Beryl gives Jadeite one last chance to defeat the guardians. After losing again, he attempts to reveal their identities only for Beryl to freeze him solid in a giant crystal.
113	** Mistress 9 does this to Kaolinite in the third season, which also happens to be the only season in which the "YouHaveFailedMe" trope is not used. Considering how nasty Kaolinite had been to Mistress 9's host body, Hotaru, this was also motivated by revenge.
114	** Sailor Iron Mouse is killed by Galaxia in ''Stars'' after one failure too many, by means of removing her bracelets.
115	* Zako Red in ''Anime/SDGundamForce'' gets deactivated by Commander Sazabi as soon as he's finished helping the invasion of Neotopia commence. This is particularly stupid because, aside from Zako Red, Sazabi was more or less SurroundedByIdiots.
116	** However, the show implies rather strongly that Zako Red is simply a drone operated by Sazabi to allow him to carry out his plans without revealing himself.
117	** And it turns out the Zakos and their bumbling commanders are only a small iteration of the Dark Axis anyway, as shown by the Doga Commandos and the villains that appear in the second half of the series.
118	** Later on, once the General, leader of the Dark Axis, develops the power to absorb gundams through a combination tractor beam/dimensional portal, Sazabi's superior Professor Gerbera decides there's no point in maintaining the alliance he had with Kibaomaru's forces.
119	* In ''Literature/ShakuganNoShana'', Sorath steals Shana's [[FlamingSword Nietono no Shana]], which he had [[ItMustBeMine always coveted]], and callously throws away his [[{{BFS}} Blutsauger]], saying it is worthless to him now. This bites him in the ass when Shana picks up Blutsauger and continues the fight.
120	* In the first season of ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'', Eris created a copy of Rezo after the real one died. She blames the original's death on Lina and her friends and tries to kill them by unlocking "Rezo's Legacy". Eris released the power of Zanifar, which is absorbed into Copy Rezo. No sooner after this, Copy Rezo kills Eris because she no longer serves a purpose for him.
121	* In ''Anime/StrainStrategicArmoredInfantry'', [[spoiler:when Ralph finds the other Emily aboard the Libertad and knows that the traitor is about to move against him, he throws a coup and kills the rest of Medlock's crew, only keeping her around until she too "serves her purpose".]]
122	* In ''Anime/SwordArtOnlineTheMovieOrdinalScale'', Eiji joins up with Shigemura in the hopes of restoring the consciousness of the deceased Yuna, by stealing the memories of the SAO survivors (a process that might ''kill'' them all). After he gets beaten by Kirito, he tries to remind his employer that he promised to reunite him with Yuna, but Shigemura then says that, since Eiji spent the most time with Yuna, his memories are the most important ones and they'll be taken as well, much to his shock.
123	* Subverted in the final arc of ''Literature/TheTwelveKingdoms'' anime. Kouya has been manipulating Enki with a baby boy held in the mouth of his pet youma Rokuta, using the baby's life as ransom to take advantage of Enki's compassionate nature as a ''kirin''. Once Enki agrees to remain a hostage, he reminds Kouya that he doesn't need the baby as leverage anymore. Rather than let Rokuta devour the child -- which would be far more expected in context -- Kouya releases the poor baby and tells a servant to make sure he is returned to his parents.
124	* ''Anime/UsagichanDeCue'': The regular mooks realize that their bosses are perfectly willing to expend them in order to eradicate merged beings, and leave no loose ends to the genocide.
125	* Orikakan gets this from Niwe in ''Anime/{{Utawarerumono}}'' in the form of an arrow through the neck.
126	* ''Anime/{{Windaria}}'' The BigBad quotes the trope name when speaking about Alan.
127	* Fuuma does this to Kusanagi in the ''Manga/{{X 1999}}'' movie after the latter gets his arm dismembered by the protagonists. The result is a RainOfBlood. The manga and anime versions of Fuuma do similar things.
128	* The ''Anime/{{Ys}} II'' OVA has [[BigBad Darm]] off [[TheDragon Dares]] in accordance with this trope. [[VillainBall Even though]] Dares was actually ''winning''.
129	* ''Franchise/YuGiOh'':
130	** In the original ''Manga/YuGiOh'' manga, Bandit Keith does this with Zygor, Sid, and Bonz when Bonz loses in a duel.
131	** And in ''Anime/YuGiOhTheMoviePyramidOfLight'', after Seto Kaiba has done enough damage to Yami Yugi and afterwards attempts and fails to destroy his Pyramid of Light card with his Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon, Anubis appears and ambushes him, grabbing him by the head, tossing him aside and knocking him unconscious before taking his place in the duel with Yami, while saying, "You have served me well, little worm. But You Have Outlived Your Usefulness!"
132	** In ''Anime/YuGiOhCapsuleMonsters'', Alexander has no qualms with sacrificing his servants' monsters and banishing them from the game. He tries to convince Yugi to do the same, but gets called out about it.
133	** ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'': The Three Emperors of Yliaster do this to Jeager and Team Catastrophe. They survive thanks to the heroes.
134	** ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'': The third-party villain Tron considers his own sons expendable, and after they lose their duels, uses their life forces to empower his own secret weapon.
135	* In ''Manga/ZatchBell'', Gash's evil twin Zeon hires a demon named Baltro to kidnap Kiyomaro's father and lure Gash into a battle. When Baltro and his partner fail to burn Gash's book, Zeon promptly burns Baltro's, stating that all losers in battles must return to the demon world and that those are the rules.

Context YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness / AnimeAndManga