It's for humanity's own good, Nunnally... (supposedly)
NOTE: This is both a Spoilered Rotten trope and a Death Trope, meaning that EVERY SINGLE EXAMPLE on this list is a spoiler by default and will be unmarked. This is your last warning, only proceed if you really believe you can handle this list. That being said, it's also possible that examples may involve subversions or multiple protagonists.
- 18if: After being trapped in the dream world for the duration of the series, Haruto decides to go into Heaven, even after being offered the opportunity to return to the waking world, where has been in a coma. Upon doing so, his body dies.
- Both Riki and Iason die in Ai no Kusabi.
- The Anime adaptation of Akame ga Kill! kills off The Hero, Tatsumi, in the penultimate episode after defeating Emperor Makoto and the Primus Imperator/Shikoutazer. Notably, the anime had diverged significantly from the manga at this point so these events haven't taken place in the latter; unlike the anime, Tatsumi lives in the manga (albeit permanently stuck in a dragon form).
- During the final minutes of the first season of Aldnoah.Zero, Princess Asseylum is shot down by Count Saazbaum, though there's some doubt to whether she died. The protagonist, Nao, gets shot in the head a moment later by Slaine (after Slaine puts several bullets in Saazbaum for shooting Asseylum). Subverted in the second season as they're both alive, though Nao lost an eye.
- Though inconclusive, Godo (mostly known as Gun God), the main character of Angel Notes, which is part of the Nasuverse, is probably dead.
- Astro Boy: In the Scara arc, we see Astro's demise - which is directly linked to his birth.
- Attack on Titan: While it does tease his death a couple of times in the story only for him to actually be alive, Eren dies for real right at the end, being beheaded by Mikasa as a necessity to stop The Rumbling (An Apocalypse How that Eren was causing).
- In Bakuman。 no one dies in the main story, but Nanamine's Classroom of Truth and the main characters' Reversi kill off their main characters. The former is a Shoot the Shaggy Dog example, in which even he fails to escape the survival tournament for his class. The latter combines is a case of Dying as Yourself, and is seen in-universe as a fitting conclusion to the story.
- Ash is killed by Shin's friend in the final chapter of Banana Fish.
- Blassreiter kills off the entire XAT save Amanda at the halfway mark.
- Ichigo Kurosaki dies twice in Bleach. The first time is when Urahara permanently separates his soul from his body to trigger his transformation into a Soul Reaper, which allows him to still inhabit his body with no consequence. The second time is when Ulquiorra blasts him in the torso, which allows his Hollow side to take over and eventually heals him.
- Hagino/Ekaril from Blue Drop. It's all ultimately for nothing.
- All the protagonists are dead by the end of the Bokurano, having died as a result of the robot taking their life force after winning their battles. In the anime, the youngest of the girls survives.
- Chrono Crusade:
- The titular Chrono's source of his powers is Rosette's own life, meaning every time he uses his powers it shortens her lifespan. When the series starts, she's not expected to live beyond thirty. And at the end of the manga, when the epilogue skips ahead eight years…
- The anime version still uses this trope, but in a different way - due to having used up so much of her life during the final battle, Rosette's life span is shortened to the point where she only has months to live. Rosette and Chrono both go into hiding, getting their own log cabin to live the rest of their short lives together in peace before dying. Leaving the series here would have made is a Bittersweet Ending - however, it's then revealed that the villain may still be alive after all…
- Tomoya in CLANNAD ~ After Story, right after his own daughter dies no less. However, it's undone in the following episode so he can change the events that led to this.
- Claudine: Claude takes his own life after Sirène chooses his eldest brother over him.
- Code Geass provides this page's image. In the final episode, Byronic Hero Lelouch vi Britannia is publicly run through by his best friend Suzaku Kururugi, and soon after dies in the arms of his sobbing sister Nunnally. He planned the entire thing, having set himself up as history's greatest monster, made himself the enemy of the world to unite everyone against him, and then arranged his death so the world's hatred would be symbolically killed with him. It's heavily zig-zagged though considering that Lelouch is hardly a hero by the end of the anime, having had to massacre tens of millions of people in the process of his plan.
- The end of Cowboy Bebop heavily implied that Spike dies from his injuries fighting Vicious, though there is enough ambiguity that even the show's director refuses to say if he died.
- Cutey Honey: Hitomi dies at the end of Tears when she commits her heroic sacrifice.
- In the final episode of DARLING in the FRANXX, Hiro and Zero Two sacrifice their lives to stop the VIRM. In the final battle, they break away from Sterilizia True Apus to form a Golden Super Mode of Sterilizia and then form a lance out of pure energy to dive themselves into the Klaxosaur bomb, destroying the VIRM planet. The two got caught in the blast together, though both end up reincarnating as humans centuries later.Hiro: Not yet...! We've got to rewrite that story... and continue it TOGETHEEEEEEEEEER!!
- Death Note:
- The first major arc ends with Light tricking Rem into killing L.
- Light himself, a Villain Protagonist who started with good intentions before Jumping Off the Slippery Slope, ultimately dies when Ryuk makes good on his promise to write Light's name in the Death Note after Light's exposed as Kira.
- In Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Tanjiro dies of his wounds shortly after killing Muzan off for good. Muzan apparently ends up getting the last laugh however, as Tanjiro then Comes Back Wrong… and then Tanjiro manages to turn the tables over Muzan when he is brought back to normal, alive but injured.
- Goku sacrifices his life twice in Dragon Ball Z. The first time is when he holds his evil brother Raditz still for Piccolo to shoot him with his Special Beam Cannon, knowing fully well that he would die too. The second time is near the end of the Cell saga. Cell has inflated to massive size and is threatening to blow up the earth. Thinking quickly, Goku uses instant transmission to send Cell and himself to King Kai's planet and stays during the detonation so that the world will be safe, and then his son Gohan temporarily becomes the main character. He is resurrected both times, though in the latter case he stays dead for seven years because he believes Earth is safer without him since he attracts villains.
- In Dragon Ball GT, after beating the final dark dragon, Goku sacrifices himself for one more wish to restore the order of the world before going with the dragon, never to be seen again by his family and friends. The last bit of the anime is his spirit watching his descendants fight in the Budokai tournament before he heads back to the afterlife.
- In the original, unaltered timeline of Dragon Ball Super, Zamasu has successfully stolen Goku's body and kills him and his old body, becoming Goku Black in the process. This is only the second death that isn't a result of Goku sacrificing himselfnote . Chi Chi and Goten also die just because Goku Black's a dick.
- Fairy Tail:
- The X792 counterpart of Lucy Heartfilia dies protecting her present self from X798 Rogue Cheney's lethal blast towards the end of the Grand Magic Games arc.
- At the end of the series, Mavis Vermillion dies when her mutual love for Zeref Dragneel breaks their curse.
- Saeko Shirasu, one of the two focal characters of Flag, dies in the final episode in a random terrorist attack.
- At the end of Fullmetal Alchemist, Hohenheim, the hidden protagonist, dies in front of Trisha's grave. This is not a Downer Ending, however, as he has lived for 450+ years and is sick of watching his loved ones die before him. Though he tells Trisha's gravestone that part of him still wants to go on living, he no longer has a choice in the matter, having used up the power of every soul in his Philosopher's Stone to help defeat Father. Even his own soul was so weakened that just living long enough to get to his wife's grave was an act of sheer willpower.
- In the finale of Fullmetal Alchemist (2003), Ed is killed by Envy. Al, who is the new Philosopher's Stone, transmutes himself a few moments later to revive him.
- In F-Zero: GP Legend, Captain Falcon pulls a heroic sacrifice and he manages to destroy Black Shadow for good. He also finds the perfect successor in the form of Rick, who becomes engaged with Haruka.
- Seita and Setsuko from Grave of the Fireflies. The movie opens with Seita dying and meeting Setsuko's spirit in the afterlife. As the movie goes back to show their lives and their struggle against famine, it's already a given that their efforts aren't going to end well.
- Late into Gunslinger Girl, Henreitta dies. She was already dying and had shot Jose when she flashbacked to the night her family died. Jose shot her and she shot him back. At the time of the manga Triela was more of the protagonist though. She dies too, along with all the other girls.
- Jonathan Joestar dies at the end of the first part of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, sacrificing himself to take Dio with him. It isn't until part 3 that we find out that his death was in vain, as Dio's head took his body and used it to revive himself. Well, not entirely - this action also inadvertently alerts Jonathan's descendants through the Joestar bloodline when Dio awakens his Stand, causing them to go after him to put him down permanently, and they succeed. His sacrifice also ensures that he has descendants at all to fight the Pillar Men, Dio, and other evils that threaten the world.
- Zigzagged in Part 6. Stone Ocean ends with the deaths of Jolyne (the protagonist), Ermes and Anasui (allies), and Jotaro (protagonist of Part 3 and Jolyne's father). Two more allies, Weather Report and Foo Fighters, died earlier in the part. However, they are reborn as new-but-old people in the new universe.
- Also occurs in Part 7, Steel Ball Run. Deuteragonist Gyro Zeppeli, dies after his patented steel ball gets slightly damaged by Lucy Steel's barrier, meaning he couldn't defeat Funny Valentine and succumbs to a wound traveling from his hand to his heart.
- Every JoJo, save for Giorno (who would die in a vision, but due to his ability that point was never reached) and Part 8's Josuke (and even in this case, he's a fusion of two different individuals), has been shown dying at some point in the series. Jonathan died at the end of Part 1, Joseph died fighting DIO (though he was brought back shortly after), Jotaro was killed in one time loop caused by Bites the Dust and was later Killed Off for Real in Part 6, Part 4's Josuke was killed in the same aforementioned time loop, Jolyne dies at the end of Part 6, and Johnny dies in the backstory of Part 8.
- Kimba the White Lion has this happen at the ending of each of its adaptations with the exception of the 60s anime sequel and, the 1989 series and the 2009 TV special.
- King's Game kills off Nobuaki Kanazawa in its sequel, Shuukyoku, after Natsuko uses her final ounce of energy to decapitate him with a chainsaw. Riona drowns herself not long after in an attempt to stop the eponymous game—an attempt that fails.
- Knight Hunters: Aya was supposed to die in the final episode of Weiß Kreuz Glühen, but a manga sequel was greenlit, and they retconned it so that he survived.
- Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Both of them. Yang Wen-Li didn't even make it into the last season.
- Kaoru from A Song to the Sun is Delicate and Sickly with an allergy to the sun. Thanks to her disorder she isn't allowed outside often. Kaoru falls for a surfer boy and decides that Living Is More than Surviving so she decides to go outside more. Alas her illness doesn't magically go away and she eventually dies due to sun exposure.
- The main character in Millennium Actress dies after telling her life story in an interview.
- In Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Mikazuki Augus dies when he succumbs to his Heroic RRoD in his fight with Julieta Juris and an army of Reginlaze units. This marks the first time in the Gundam franchise that a Gundam protagonist has died since Amuro Ray in Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack (which was still a case of Never Found the Body).
- At the end of Nurse Angel Ririka SOS, Ririka does a Heroic Sacrifice to save the planet. Subverted as the final shot shows her opening her eyes.
- This is Played for Laughs in the first Osomatsu-san episode. Totoko dies of a nosebleed and the others complain about the protagonist dying in the first episode. Totoko is alive in future episodes.
- Phantom of Inferno. In the anime, both Reiji and Ein die at the very last scene.
- Pokémon: The Series:
- Ash Ketchum from Pokémon: The First Movie is killed (or near enough) by a crossfire of psychic attacks. He gets better by a stream of Swiss-Army Tears.
- Ash dies three other times in the series, once in Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew and another in Pokémon: The Movie Black/White. Naturally he gets better.
- He and Pikachu both die in Kanto when he's trying to get a Pokemon to defeat Sabrina with. It's unspecific it they literally died but it at least seems like they did.
- Everyone save Homura from Puella Magi Madoka Magica dies several times fighting the powerful witch Walpurgisnacht, whether dying in the battle or becoming a witch. In the last timeline, Mami is killed by the witch Charlotte (she gets better), Sayaka, who Word of God describes as the hero of the series, succumbs to despair and turns into a witch (she gets better... kinda), and Kyoko dies in a Heroic Sacrifice to be Together in Death with Sayaka (she gets better, but Sayaka is still gone).
- Yayoi, the daughter of the titular Queen, makes a Heroic Sacrifice in the end of Queen Millennia.
- In Shi ni Aruki, Tokiko Kurosu may not be much of a hero, but she's the protagonist and main character of the manga. Three chapters from the end, she commits suicide by stepping in front of a train.
- The Sky Crawlers. The anime film's hero goes one-on-one with, and dies at the guns of, the Teacher, who was previously known as Lynx/Cheetah, the player character of the Wii game The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces.
- Captain Noah from Space Carrier Blue Noah dies after saving the world, him being the hero the show is named after.
- In the tenth episode of Space Patrol Luluco, Luluco dies of a broken heart when Nova turns out to be The Mole (and not to have ever cared about her at all). She gets better the next episode when Inferno Cop gives her a Rousing Speech and points her towards a literal exit out of hell.
- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann has this happen in the first half of the series when Kamina, who at that point was arguably the main character, dies. The story shifts proper to Simon for the duration of the series.
- This happens to Nine and Twelve in the ending of Terror in Resonance.
- Ichise in Texhnolyze, along with the entire human race.
- The death of Joe in Tomorrow's Joe is considered one of the most famous and influential death scenes in all of Japanese fiction, to the point that most of the other manga/anime examples on this listed are at least in some way a nod to it.
- Toward the Terra ends with Jomy dying side by side with Keith. Except then there's the coda...
- Valvrave the Liberator: After defeating Cain Dressel and destroying the Dainsleif, Haruto loses all of his memories due to Valvrave Unit 1 consuming his runes. The loss of all his memories ultimately kills him, but right before he dies, he briefly recognizes his partner and friend L-Elf, and gives him a weak punch to the chin as a callback to their earlier fight. It even acts as a brief Hope Spot in that it appears that Haruto is going to make it from how jubilant he looks to see L-Elf... but then his smile falters, and he closes his eyes, dying anyways.
- In the Witchblade anime, Masane performs a Heroic Sacrifice to destroy the Witchblade and every single I-Weapon that crowded around her.
- Wolf's Rain does this with pretty much everyone. The ending shows them (well, the wolves, at least) reincarnated in the future.
- The ending to Yu-Gi-Oh! is that Atem passes on to the afterlife, finally freed from the Millennium Puzzle.
- This counts for the second death of Yusuke Urameshi in YuYu Hakusho, not in the beginning when he's Dead to Begin With.
