History DroppedABridgeOnHim / AnimeAndManga

* In the world of ''Manga/OnePiece'', where people seem to be able to survive about anything (including gunshots, explosions to the face, losing thrice the amount of blood a human body even contains, getting building thrown onto them, being poisoned to death, getting impaled, getting eletrocuted by millions of volts), Zoro's childhoodfriend Kuina dies an extremely anticlimatic death. While all other Straw Hats usually have a tragic backstory with a person in their past heroically sacrificing themselves, or dying an epic death, Kuina dies by falling down some stairs.

* Vanessa Rene in ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'' is killed off in such an anti-climactic way that some viewers haven't even realized she is dead until another character starts burying her. Madlax ''is'' shown to grieve over her though, which makes it even more puzzling why in the end she [[KarmaHoudini runs off with the woman who killed her]].
** Vanessa's death may better fit a HeroicSacrifice or TakingTheBullet. The foundations were well set up in the proceeding episodes, it is definitely a very in-character sacrifice and not an arbitrary, collapsing bridge in the jungle. True, she didn't expect to die ... but her belief doesn't make it an unrealistic turn of events. She put herself in front of a sniper's bullet. She then earned her heartwarming reward, to be reunited in spirit with her Mother and Father ... pretty much making it clear she didn't miraculously survive the shot.

* Offscreen, but in [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime version]] of ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', Izumi dies somewhere between the end of the series and TheMovie. Justified that she was quite sickly but still.

* Although a major side-villain and somewhat expected to die at some time during the series run, ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'''s Seina quite literally does have one dropped on her. By her own brother. The Behemoth's activation causes the structural supports for the warehouse to collapse around the main cast during their escape, including the water-filled room Seina is hanging onto a rail in. But we don't get to see that right then. Instead we see her about to shoot Andrey Kalinin despite the fact he came back for her. We see the gun go off as a cliffhanger to episode 11. In episode 12, we see Kalinin alive and Seina mortally wounded. In a flashback we then see her hit by a large girder which caused the gun to go off. That was pretty darned random.

* In ''Manga/MurasakiiroNoQualia'' Yukari is written off quite suddenly in an unexpected manner, considering her importance until then. She dies off screen in unknown circumstances.

* In the movie version of ''Manga/{{Akira}}'', Kaori suddenly meets her end when a mutating Testuo accidentally pulls her in and she's crushed by his insides. Her death in the manga [[SacrificialLion was more plot-relevant]], as she's shot to death by Tetsuo's treacherous lieutenant and perishes in Tetsuo's arms.

** WordOfGod says this was originally not the case. Izumi had a completely written scene, her TearJerker death, but it was written out of the script. Her voice actress was even apologized too, for making her have no lines.

* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'': In the GeckoEnding of the first anime series, Negi's father Nagi, the legendary "Thousand Master", for whom Negi has been searching the entire series (and most of his life), is casually disposed of by shoving him through a dimensional portal so that Negi can get to the real business of the show's GrandFinale, which is retconning the bridge dropping of ''another'' character.
* ''Anime/WolfsRain'' did something similar in the four {{OVA}} episodes that conclude the series. Remember, the wolves were trying to get to Paradise, and the series up to that point had suggested they had a chance of making it -- so the first time one of the wolves died it was especially shocking.
** Then again, the ending confirmed that they couldn't have reached Paradise anyway because it doesn't exist -- the world is trapped in an endless cycle of death and rebirth and it's the wolves' fate to initiate every rebirth.
* Vanessa Rene in ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'' is killed off in such an anti-climactic way that some viewers haven't even realized she is dead until another character starts burying her. Madlax ''is'' shown to grieve over her though, which makes it even more puzzling why in the end she [[KarmaHoudini runs off with the woman who killed her]].
** Vanessa's death may better fit a HeroicSacrifice or TakingTheBullet. The foundations were well set up in the proceeding episodes, it is definitely a very in-character sacrifice and not an arbitrary, collapsing bridge in the jungle. True, she didn't expect to die ... but her belief doesn't make it an unrealistic turn of events. She put herself in front of a sniper's bullet. She then earned her heartwarming reward, to be reunited in spirit with her Mother and Father ... pretty much making it clear she didn't miraculously survive the shot.
* In the end of the first arc of ''Anime/RaveMaster'', Haru's father, Gale, dies shielding him with his own body from falling rocks. That would be heart-warming, if not for the fact that both Gale and Haru have always exhibited superhuman levels of strength and endurance, and also the traditional feats seen in Anime. A bridge was definitely dropped here.
* Vamdemon's deaths from ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' and ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. To quote one Digimon forumer, each of his forms was [[ClippedWingAngel increasingly easier to beat]]. First form? All the Perfects had to combine their powers to allow Angewomon to strike him down. Second form? [[GroinAttack Hit him in the crotch]] with a chunk of building. Third form? [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath "I wanna be a teacher!" POOF!]] The next time he'll be planet sized and bristling with firepower, and Neemon will kill him by sneezing on him.
** And let's not get started on the deaths of Arukenimon and Mummymon.
** A bit of irony in ''02'''s case: by ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'', nearly all of the Chosen save for Hikari and Takeru are trounced in a fight with Imperialdramon at the start of ''Reunion''. There has been no trace of Daisuke and the group in the movies since.
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'':
** Orochimaru gets shafted ''twice''. First, he is killed in a relatively brief fight with Sasuke, when [[HoistByHisOwnPetard his own body transfer technique is turned against him]] and ends up getting absorbed by Sasuke. Later, while fighting Itachi, Sasuke's chakra gets drained causing Orochimaru to be "freed" only for Itachi to seal him in a permanent genjutsu before he could do anything. Subverted because [[NotQuiteDead he comes back]] later.
** Dosu challenged Gaara between stages of the Chuunin exam, and got killed instantly for his troubles because Shukaku was in control of Gaara's mind.
** Directly afterward, a second bridge is dropped on the Chunin proctor, Hayate Gekko, who saw it happened, heard Kabuto and Baki talking about the invasion, and was killed off by Baki right there with almost no build up. His girlfriend in the ANBU ops was among those who found the body. She swears revenge on his killer and is promptly [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome Brother Chucked]].
** In the final arc, this happens to none other than Uchiha Madara. He has successfully absorbed everyone except the main characters into the Infinite Tsukuyomi illusion and even the main characters trying to stop him are on the ropes. When it appears that he is a couple of steps away from victory, he gets backstabbed (literally and figuratively) by TheDragon Black Zetsu.
* In ''Anime/AshitaNoNadja'', Miss Applefield, who gets a ''shelf'' dropped on her off-screen as she performs a DivingSave to protect one of the orphan kids. This serves no other in-story purpose than having her OrphanageOfLove disbanded and giving Nadja ''yet another'' reason to angst.
** And another one is how Jose gets hit ''by a carriage'' right after he and Carmen have resolved to separate but stay in friendly terms until they truly reach their dreams.

* ''Franchise/{{Zoids}}'' features a number of these, possibly the most infamous in episode 13 of ''Anime/ZoidsFuzors''. The climactic, three-way battle between the Liger Zero Phoenix, the Buster Fury and the Matrix Dragon (the latter which had been hyped as one of the most powerful Zoids ever just an episode prior) ends with the Buster Fury and the Matrix Dragon getting shot in the back by the Energy Liger. As a final indignity, the Berserk Fury and the Buster Eagle are seen in the following episode looking ''better'' than they did after they'd been shot, but being declared as "damaged beyond repair, no good even for scrap." What? (Made even more inane when you remember this is a MerchandiseDriven series, and the sole reason Buster Fury is being written out is to be [[MidSeasonUpgrade replaced by the Gairyuki]].)
* Although a major side-villain and somewhat expected to die at some time during the series run, ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'''s Seina quite literally does have one dropped on her. By her own brother. The Behemoth's activation causes the structural supports for the warehouse to collapse around the main cast during their escape, including the water-filled room Seina is hanging onto a rail in. But we don't get to see that right then. Instead we see her about to shoot Andrey Kalinin despite the fact he came back for her. We see the gun go off as a cliffhanger to episode 11. In episode 12, we see Kalinin alive and Seina mortally wounded. In a flashback we then see her hit by a large girder which caused the gun to go off. That was pretty darned random.
** Leonard's death is quite anti-climactic. He's the major villain of the latter half of the entire series,so you'd expect an epic mecha battle between him and Sousuke. Wrong! Kalinin merely shoots him because he's not ending the world fast enough. No big deal.
* In the final episode of ''Anime/TheBigO'', a side-villain named Vera gets into a Megadeus bigger than any other in the series, and gives a big, dramatic speech about how she will unleash a curse upon the city. Then, a beam breaks off of the mysterious giant stage lights over the city and falls on them. It is not acknowledged by the characters who witnessed it. The show must go on.
** This scene made about as much sense as anything else that happened in the course of that episode, which was either a GeckoEnding, a GainaxEnding or a bit of both depending who you ask.

* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', South American Death Scythe, Tezca Tlipoca seemingly dies this way. However he replaced himself at the last second. And he seems to have died again just seven chapters later. Although this time it seems to be for real, although it seems like way less of a bridge drop this time around since it not only got some fanfare, but the whole chapter devoted to the fight that ends this way. He's techincally [[OnlyMostlyDead still alive]].
* The manga version of ''Manga/KimbaTheWhiteLion'' has [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Kitty]] who got killed off by a plague that came out of no where.
* In the movie version of ''Manga/{{Akira}}'', Kaori suddenly meets her end when a mutating Testuo accidentally pulls her in and she's crushed by his insides. Her death in the manga [[SacrificialLion was more plot-relevant]], as she's shot to death by Tetsuo's treacherous lieutenant and perishes in Tetsuo's arms.

** WordOfGod says this was originally not the case. Izumi had a completely written scene, her TearJerker death, but it was written out of the script. Her voice actress was even apologized too, for making her have no lines
* In ''Anime/SailorMoon'' the last three of the Witches 5 get very anti-climactic deaths. Each of them is killed within one episode - Tellu is destroyed by her own plant monster, Viluy is killed by her own nano-machines and Cyprine gets tricked into killing herself. In contrast Eudial and Mimette got long-running arcs leading up to their eventual deaths.
* In ''Anime/SailorMoonCrystal'', the shitennou aren't killed one after the other and stay alive together long enough for the senshis to free them of their brainwashing...only to be killed in the next scene by an energy wave sent by the arc's big bad.
* In ''Manga/MurasakiiroNoQualia'' Yukari is written off quite suddenly in an unexpected manner, considering her importance until then. She dies off screen in unknown circumstances.
* Deliberately used as the climax of the WhamEpisode in ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', when Mami Tomoe gets killed with shocking suddenness by the Witch Charlotte, who pulls a OneWingedAngel form out of nowhere. To be fair, she gets a slo-mo OhCrap moment, but the whole scene is deliberately done with shocking suddenness, making this something of an IntendedAudienceReaction.
** Happens to Kyoko and Mami - yet again - in Homura's second timeline from episode 10. After realizing the truth about magical girls, a grief-stricken Mami snapped and shot Kyoko dead with zero warning whatsoever, then tried to kill Homura in the same fashion. She was shot dead by Madoka before managing to do so.

* ''Anime/FairyTail'', a series marked for its habit of teasing character deaths and then not following through, abruptly kills off every government head in one swoop at the start of the Tartarus arc. An explosion mid-meeting kills Lahar and all or the councilors save Org, who is the killed several pages later.
* In ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers'', after Due killed Regius, she is [[CurbStompBattle immediately]] killed by Zest... ''off-screen''. She had the least screentime of all of the Numbers, and was the only one of them to be KilledOffForReal.
* PlayedForLaughs in ''Manga/TheComicArtistAndHisAssistants''. In ''That's Important'', Editor Mihari recommends Aito adding a LoveRival into his series to make it more interesting, against his wishes. He decided to draw in a NewTransferStudent for that purpose--who's killed ''in the same chapter''. Mihari, of course, was not pleased.
* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'' has [[SmugSnake Yuna]] [[GeneralFailure Roma]] [[SissyVillain Seiran]] tricked into returning control of Orb to Cagalli when she reappears during Operation Fury when Orb is overwhelmed and on the back foot. Arrested for treason, they attempt to interrogate him to no avail. Yuna manages to escape from his captors when a Mobile Suit fight distracts them for a moment, but not seconds later, a GOUF Ignited is shot down in front of him and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLJ_82ik5HU squashes him like a bug]]. If he'd just stayed put and kept complaining, he would have lived, but instead he's [[LaserGuidedKarma killed by the needless war he started]].
* In the world of ''Manga/OnePiece'', where people seem to be able to survive about anything (including gunshots, explosions to the face, losing thrice the amount of blood a human body even contains, getting building thrown onto them, being poisoned to death, getting impaled, getting eletrocuted by millions of volts), Zoro's childhoodfriend Kuina dies an extremely anticlimatic death. While all other Straw Hats usually have a tragic backstory with a person in their past heroically sacrificing themselves, or dying an epic death, Kuina dies by falling down some stairs.
* Chapter 36 in ''Manga/{{Fuuka}}'' ends with [[spoiler: the ''title character'' very suddenly being run over by a truck and killed. Turns out the title was actually referring to a different Fuuka.]]
* In ''Literature/JokerGame'', two characters gain prominence in the first two episodes: Lt. Sakuma and a particularly clever and adept-seeming spy, Miyoshi, who appears to be on the way to becoming the former's {{foil}}. However, [[DecoyProtagonist Sakuma vanishes from the story]] after that, the series reveals itself to be episodic, and the next time [[MauveShirt Miyoshi]] is shown, he's been killed while on a mission and doesn't even have any lines ''in his own focus episode.'' He's the only D Agency spy to die during the course of the series.
* In Episode 41 of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'', [[spoiler: Lafter is gunned down by an assassin hired by Jasley with little build up in what had up to that point been a BreatherEpisode.]]
* ''Manga/TheLegendaryHeroIsDead'' starts out in this manner, with the legendary hero dying by falling into a very obvious spiked pit trap (complete with a chunk of pork as bait). Then the villagers bury the body in an unmarked grave and pretend he was never there, just to avoid further trouble. Later, the protagonist (the guy who set up the trap to begin with) plans to defeat the demon lord in the exact same way.
* ''Anime/Danganronpa3TheEndOfHopesPeakHighSchool Side: Future'' has Ruruka go out in the most brutal way possible: lacerated, choked to death with her own candy, and left in a position that made it look like ''something'' sexual was being done to her as she got killed. And considering the cause of death was [[spoiler: suicide]], the way she died raised a lot of questions about [[spoiler: what issues she had with herself]]. Unlike most Foundation deaths in the show, this is the ''only one'' the cast doesn't know happened. All the people who would have mourned her went first, and the ones who did remain [[ForgottenFallenFriend don't even mention her]] when the game is over. Even fans that thought of her as a BaseBreakingCharacter thought that was overkill.
* ''Manga/VampireKnight'': [[spoiler: Sara's]] death.
* [[spoiler: The title character]] in ''Anime/MagicalPrincessMinkyMomo'' [[spoiler: suddenly lost her powers after her magical pendant was destroyed by an ordinary bullet and was run over by a truck out of nowhere shortly after. The creators of the anime did this in retaliation to the toy company that sponsored it pulling out due to poor international sales. Though she got better later.]]
* ''Manga/MagicalXMiracle'' has [[spoiler:the Master Wizard, Sylth]], who died after getting hit by a carriage. Quite an anticlimatic end for someone known to be so powerful.

* ''Manga/YuushaGaShinda'' starts out in this manner, with the legendary hero dying by falling into a very obvious spiked pit trap (complete with a chunk of pork as bait). Then the villagers bury the body in an unmarked grave and pretend he was never there, just to avoid further trouble. Later, the protagonist (the guy who set up the trap to begin with) plans to defeat the demon lord in the exact same way.

** ''Manga/VentoAureo'':

* ''Manga/Gintama'': After the long, arduous fights to protect the Shogun from all types of enemies, the Shogun ended up being poisoned at his own house.

* ''Yuusha ga Shinda'' starts out in this manner, with the legendary hero dying by falling into a very obvious spiked pit trap (complete with a chunk of pork as bait). Then the villagers bury the body in an unmarked grave and pretend he was never there, just to avoid further trouble. Later, the protagonist (the guy who set up the trap to begin with) plans to defeat the demon lord in the exact same way.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'': In the GeckoEnding of the first anime series, Negi's father Nagi, the legendary "Thousand Master", for whom Negi has been searching the entire series (and most of his life), is casually disposed of by shoving him through a dimensional portal so that Negi can get to the real business of the show's GrandFinale, which is retconning the bridge dropping of ''another'' character.

* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', South American Death Scythe, Tezca Tlipoca seemingly dies this way. However he replaced himself at the last second.
*** And he seems to have died again just seven chapters later. Although this time it seems to be for real, although it seems like way less of a bridge drop this time around since it not only got some fanfare, but the whole chapter devoted to the fight that ends this way. He's techincally [[OnlyMostlyDead still alive]].

* ''Anime/DanganRonpa3 Side: Future'' has Ruruka go out in the most brutal way possible: lacerated, choked to death with her own candy, and left in a position that made it look like ''something'' sexual was being done to her as she got killed. And considering the cause of death was [[spoiler: suicide]], the way she died raised a lot of questions about [[spoiler: what issues she had with herself]]. Unlike most Foundation deaths in the show, this is the ''only one'' the cast doesn't know happened. All the people who would have mourned her went first, and the ones who did remain [[ForgottenFallenFriend don't even mention her]] when the game is over. Even fans that thought of her as a BaseBreakingCharacter thought that was overkill.

* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', South American Death Scythe, Tezca Tlipoca seemingly dies this way. Although nobody knows if it'll stay this way.
** Nah, he replaced himself at the last second.

* Happens in ''Anime/XamdLostMemories'' with RivalTurnedEvil Furuichi. He's had his big fight with Akiyuki and Haru, his childhood friends and two of the show's heroes, and now it looks like he's finally made his peace with their being together and going to mend fences with them--only for the soldiers to catch up to him and arrest him for being a Xam'd, at which point he succumbs so deeply to despair that he ''tears off his own head!'' What makes this all the worse is that Furuichi is one of only a small handful of characters in ''Xam'd'' to die at all, and none of his former friends seem to care that he's gone--in fact, we never even see his mother's reaction to his death!

*** In what's perhaps the most notable example of this trope in the series, [[spoiler:Narancia Ghirga, without any warning, is killed by [[BigBad Diavolo]]... ''off-screen'']].

*** [[spoiler:Leone Abbacchio is killed by the boss of Passione after being left completely defenseless. It's so sudden that Abbacchio himself doesn't even realize he's being attacked until after the boss [[TorsoWithAView puts a hole through his stomach]]]].

* In the end of the first arc of ''Anime/RaveMaster'', the protagonist's father dies shielding him with his own body from falling rocks. That would be heart-warming, if not for the fact that said father and son have always exhibited superhuman levels of strength and endurance, and also the traditional feats seen in Anime. A bridge was definitely dropped here.

* [[spoiler: The title character]] in ''Anime/MagicalPrincessMinkyMomo'' [[spoiler: suddenly lost her powers after her magical pendant was destroyed by an ordinary bullet and was run over by a truck out of nowhere shortly after. The creators of the anime did this is retaliation to the toy company that sponsored it pulling out due to poor international sales. Though she got better later.]]

** In ''Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable'' [[spoiler:Keicho Nijimura's death at the hands of Red Hot Chili Pepper is rather sudden and unexpected, given that there had been no prior build up to Red Hot Chili Pepper's existence]].
** Also from Part 4, [[spoiler:Aya Tsuji is killed by [[BigBad Kira]] very shortly after the heroes find her after she was forced to help Kira escape]].
** In ''Manga/VentoAureo'' [[spoiler:Leone Abbacchio is killed by the boss of Passione after being left completely defenseless. It's so sudden that Abbacchio himself doesn't even realize he's being attacked until after the boss [[TorsoWithAView puts a hole through his stomach]]]].
** Also from Part 5, and in what's perhaps the most notable example of this trope in the series, [[spoiler:Narancia Ghirga, without any warning, is killed by [[BigBad Diavolo]]... ''off-screen'']].

** In ''Manga/SteelBallRun'', [[spoiler:Wekapipo is killed when [[NominalHero Diego]] pushes [[NeverShallTheSelvesMeet him and an alternate version of himself together]] to activate [=D4C=]'s ability]].
** Also from Part 7, [[spoiler:Hot Pants becomes a victim of [[BigBad Valentine]]'s [=D4C=]: Love Train. Her death happens so suddenly in the already ''very hectic'' climax to the Part that many readers may not even notice she died until it's explicitly mentioned]].

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'':
** In ''Manga/StardustCrusaders'', [[spoiler:Muhammed Avdol is very suddenly killed by the Hol Horse/J. Geil duo, in order to establish the pair as [[KnightOfCerebus much more threatening than previous enemies]]. [[spoiler:Luckily, it's later revealed that Avdol is NotQuiteDead]]. [[spoiler:Only for this to happen ''again'' when he's suddenly killed by [[TheDragon Vanilla Ice]]]].
** In ''Manga/DiamondIsUnbreakable'' [[spoiler:Keicho Nijimura's death at the hands of Red Hot Chili Pepper is rather sudden and unexpected, given that their had been no prior build up to Red Hot Chili Pepper's existence]].

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': Speedwagon and Stroheim die in part 2's epilogue from black lung disease and Germany's invasion of Russia respectively, with only off-handed mentions. In Part 5, Narancia is killed off-screen by Diavolo. Later on, Part 6 takes this to the extreme with Pucci using Made in Heaven to drop a bridge on the ''entire universe'', rebooting the series.