History Main / LosingIsWorseThanDeath

%%[[folder:ComicBooks]]
%%* ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'': Usagi and his OldMaster are at a swordfighting competition. Usagi is told that the important is not to win... and when asked what will happen if he doesn't, correctly replies that his master will beat him to a pulp.
%%[[/folder]]

* ''Manga/{{Akagi}}'': In the beginning of the Washizu arc, Akagi is blackmailed into losing a dice game or face death, although he doesn't cave in and chooses to win.
** It doesn't sound like much, but keep in mind Akagi is doing this after ''taking a katana to the shoulder''.

* Occurs in ''Manga/OnePiece'', most notably with Zoro:
--> ''I prefer death to defeat.''

[[folder:ComicBooks]]
* ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'': Usagi and his OldMaster are at a swordfighting competition. Usagi is told that the important is not to win... and when asked what will happen if he doesn't, correctly replies that his master will beat him to a pulp.
[[/folder]]

* ''Film/VarsityBlues:'' Sam Moxon makes his son think that winning a football game takes precedence over the relationship with his troubled son.
** Taken UpToEleven with Coach Kilmer, [[VillainWithGoodPublicity who is beloved by the town]] [[spoiler: but would coerce any of his injured ''high-school'' players into taking morphine and getting back into play rather than benching them due to the injury. This even sets off the events of the story, as the star quarterback's knee was nothing but scar-tissue by the time he was actually taken to a hospital for treatment]].

* Every GameMaster of a tabletop gaming group probably has at least one story of a battle their players refused to retreat from no matter how many chances they gave them before the TotalPartyKill.
** The [[http://www.highprogrammer.com/alan/gaming/shadowrun/clue-files.html Shadowrun CLUE Files]] has a goodly number of (hilarious) examples.

[[folder:Web Video]]
* ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' inspired this trope by parodying it in the source material.
[[/folder]]

* Real-life sports teams have fallen into this, especially where the coaches are concerned.

** Goku tries to give his life to win the Cell Games. [[FromASingleCell Doesn't work, though.]]
*** To be fair with Goku, the Cell Games had [[ApocalypseHow pretty high stakes]].
*** Even before this, Goku was given a chance ''by Cell'' to eat a senzu bean healing his wounds completely. When Goku refuses, Vegeta explains why with this trope.
** Vegeta Too. Victory for him is winning alone and he dies ''twice'' because of it.

* ''Anime/YuGiOh:''
** Winning a card game is so important that characters like Seito Kaiba will pull from their vast riches and cheat just to win.
** Taken a step further in TheAbridgedSeries, where this is referred to as a "children's card game". (Although, some would doubt this opinion, as real life adults play collectable card games even more then children, and [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Artworks:Dramatic_Rescue given the]] [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Artworks:Taunt original art]] [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Artworks:Last_Day_of_Witch on some of the]] [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Artworks:Fiend_Comedian actual cards]] [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Artworks:Dian_Keto_the_Cure_Master the game was]] [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Artworks:Offerings_to_the_Doomed likely not]] [[http://yugioh.wikia.com/wiki/Card_Artworks:Parasite_Paracide intended for kids.]]

* ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' - "I lost a card game, I no longer have a reason to live!" The inspiration for this trope.

[[folder:Real life]]
* Every GameMaster of a tabletop gaming group probably has at least one story of a battle his players refused to retreat from no matter how many chances he gave them before the TotalPartyKill.
** The [[http://www.highprogrammer.com/alan/gaming/shadowrun/clue-files.html Shadowrun CLUE Files]] has a goodly number of (hilarious) examples.

** Taken UpToEleven with Coach Kilmer, [[VillainWithGoodPublicity who wis beloved by the town]] [[spoiler: but would coerce any of his injured ''high-school'' players into taking morphine and getting back into play rather than benching them due to the injury. This even sets off the events of the story, as the star quarterback's knee was nothing but scar-tissue by the time he was actually taken to a hospital for treatment]].

* During {{World War Two}}, the Japanese army often played this deadly straight, with units regularly fighting to the literal last man rather than surrender, and committing suicide if capture was inevitable.

->''Someone said to me 'To you football is a matter of life or death!' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that'.''
-->--'''Bill Shankly'''

* ''Anime/YuGiOh:'' Winning a children's card game is so important that characters like Seito Kaiba will pull from their vast riches and cheat just to win.
** Taken a step further in TheAbridgedSeries.

* SPIFL occurs ''after'' the contest in question is run, while LIWTD usually shows up ''before'' it (whether before the end of the contest or even before it starts).
** Consequently, SPIFL tends to stand on its own in the story ("I finished second - this sucks"); LIWTD tends to spur further actions ("I can't finish second, so I will do this extreme action to avoid it").

* SPIFL covers cases where, objectively, the worst thing that happens to someone who finishes second is that he doesn't win. LITWD, on the other hand, allows cases where losing entails a bad consequence beyond the match itself (e.g., dying by an opponent's sword for someone who believes it is BetterToDieThanBeKilled).

[[folder: Advertising ]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* ''{{Akagi}}'': In the beginning of the Washizu arc, Akagi is blackmailed into losing a dice game or face death, although he doesn't cave in and chooses to win.

* ''DragonballZ'': Characters often have a chance to save their lives simply by breaking conventional dueling rules, but for some reason or another that is taboo.
** Heck, Goku tries to give his life to win the Cell Games. [[FromASingleCell Doesn't work, though.]]

* Occurs in ''OnePiece'', most notably with Zoro:
--> ''I prefer death to defeat.''

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''VarsityBlues:'' Sam Moxon makes his son think that winning a football game takes precedence over the relationship with his troubled son.

[[folder: Web Original ]]

* ''YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' - "I lost a card game, I no longer have a reason to live!" The inspiration for this trope.

[[folder: Real life ]]

* Film/JamesBond takes poker to an absurd level, refusing to lose even when losing will give him a clean getaway.

[[folder: Live Action Television ]]

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Often ''Q'' will taunt the crew with games he's invented to test the crew's morals. He even comments that games are more important than life: ''"The play is the thing"''.

[[/folder]]

* JamesBond takes poker to an absurd level, refusing to lose even when losing will give him a clean getaway.

* PulpFiction: Butch Coolidge ends up getting a hit taken out on him for refusing to take a fall in a rigged boxing match. Although this may have had less to do with pride, and more to do with him having taken the money he was paid to lose on purpose, and betting it on himself to win for a retirement-worthy payoff.
* In {{Snatch}}, Mickey the Traveller boxer ''will not'' take a dive, even when very explicitly and very credibly threatened with death. Subverted in two different ways. [[spoiler:First, it's not honor, he's working his own angle. And second, Bricktop's retribution for the first non-dive turns out to be more brutal than he bargained for.]]

* ''YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' - "I lost a children's card game, I no longer have a reason to live!" The inspiration for this trope.

->''Someone said to me 'To you football is a matter of life or death!' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that'.''

[[AC: Advertising]]

[[AC: Anime and Manga]]

[[AC: Film]]

* In {{Snatch}}, Mickey the Traveller boxer ''will not'' take a dive, even when very explicitly and very credibly threatened with death. Subverted in two different ways. [[spoiler:First, it's not honor, he's working his own angle. And second, Bricktop's retribution for the first non-dive turns out to be more brutal than he bargained for.]]

[[AC: Live Action Television]]

[[AC: Web Original]]

[[AC: Real life]]
* Every GameMaster of a tabletop gaming group probably has at least one story of a battle his players refused to retreat from no matter how many chances he gave them before the TotalPartyKill.

----

* ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}:'' Winning a children's card game is so important that characters like Seito Kaiba will pull from their vast riches and cheat just to win.

[[AC: Anime]]

* ''CodeGeass:'' The whole series is chock full of chess analogies and one could argue that overall story was one big game played by Lelouch.
** Subverted by Schniezel. ''Does he not care about chess at all?''

[[AC: Movies]]

[[AC: Web]]

* During {{World War Two}}, the Japanese army often played this [[{{Incredibly Lame Pun}} deadly straight]], with units regularly fighting to the literal last man rather than surrender, and committing suicide if capture was inevitable.
** They were inspired by the Ancient Samurais, it's not surprising.

* ''StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Often ''Q'' will taunt the crew with games he's invented to test the crew's morals. He even comments that games are more important than life: ''"The play is the thing"''.

**** Even before this, Goku was given a chance ''by Cell'' to eat a senzu bean, which would have given him a chance, but Goku refuses.

** Heck, Goku tries to gives his life to win the Cell Games. [[FromASingleCell Doesn't work, though.]]

** They were inspirede by the Ancient Samurais, it's not surprising.

** They were inspirede by the Ancient Samurais, it's not surperising.

* During {{World War Two}}, the Japanese army often played this [[{{Incredibly Lame Pun}} deadly straight]], with units regularly fighting to the literal last man rather than surrender, and committing suicide if capture was inevitable.

** The [[http://www.highprogrammer.com/alan/gaming/shadowrun/clue-files.html Shadowrun CLUE Files]] has a goodly number of (hilarious) examples.