History Main / NotAfraidToDie

* One of the spoken word fragments on Music/PinkFloyd's ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'' (just as "The Great Gig in the Sky" starts) is Abbey Road doorman Gerry O'Driscoll admitting that he is not afraid to die.
-->'''Gerry O'Driscoll:''' And I am not frightened of dying. Any time will do, I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it — you've all got to go sometime.

* Music/RobbieWilliams' essay on self-loathing ''Come Undone'' contains the line "I'm not afraid of dying, I just don't want to."
* Invoked by name in the lyrics of "Got a Reason" by Music/{{Crashdiet}}.
* In Music/NickCave's song "The Mercy Seat," the song is sung from the perspective of a criminal being executed by the electric chair. He repeatedly proclaims "I'm not afraid to die," in the refrain of the song, until the very last line, "I'm afraid I told a lie."
* "Don't Fear the Reaper" by Music/BlueOysterCult makes this its basic message.

** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder In Throes of Increasing Wonder...]]": Louis suffers from a nervous breakdown after [[DespairEventHorizon the death of his brother Paul]], and while confessing his sins to Father Matthias, it's plain that he wants to follow Paul to the grave. Louis is wracked with guilt and shame over his numerous failures, and it's important to note that this scene is Louis being the most honest with himself in all of Season 1. It's because he's so broken that he later accepts Lestat de Lioncourt's offer to kill him as a human and be reborn as a vampire.

* Achimas Welde, the ImplacableMan ProfessionalKiller from ''[[Literature/ErastFandorin Death of Achilles]]'', is afraid of being crippled but not of pain or death. Ironically, [[spoiler:he ''is'' crippled by Fandorin in the end of the book... and so he chooses to bleed out and die instead of accepting Fandorin's help]].

* In the ''Manga/InuYasha'' ContinuationFic ''FanFic/BeyondTomorrow'', Kikyo, while running from an explosion with [[OriginalCharacter Hanyuu]], elects to jump off a cliff to escape it. Hanyuu rightfully [[YoureInsane questions her sanity]] and points out that they won't survive the fall. Kikyo reflects to herself that if she was alone, it wouldn't matter; having [[DeathIsCheap died]] [[BackFromTheDead twice]] , she doesn't fear death anymore, but since Hanyuu's there, she has no intention of killing her as well.
* ''Fanfic/TheBridge'':

* Kurapika of ''Anime/HunterXHunter'' has no fear of death. He's only worried that is his thirst for vengeance will fade before he can destroy the people that exterminated his clan. To this end he begins isolating himself from the world, including his TrueCompanions. He's slowly getting better.

* Ebisu in ''Manga/{{Noragami}}'' shows a lack of concern in any life-threatening event because he knows he will (and he has, several times) reincarnate afterwards. [[spoiler: Subverted when he is fatally injured, he realizes he is afraid to die.]]

** Subverted, however, by [[spoiler: Marshall D. Teach aka Blackbeard, who begs for his life as Whitebeard is about to smash his head open.]]
** It becomes clear both during and after the Dressrosa arc that Trafalgar Law is more than willing to die if it means bringing down Doflamingo [[spoiler: and avenging his father-figure Corazon. Fittingly, this is the arc that reveals his full name: Trafalgar '''D.''' Water Law.]]

* Sailor Saturn from ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' is the "Soldier of Ruin and Birth", and holds the Power of Death, a double-edged sword that allows her to kill any enemy at the cost of her own life. She is also fiercely loyal to the titular character and her friends, and although she won't use this power frivolously, she will not hesitate to try and unleash it against the BigBad if she thinks she can end the conflict right then and there.

[[folder:ComicBooks]]
* In ''ComicBook/AllFallDown'': With her last words, [[spoiler:Siphon]] proves she is this.

* This is the main theme of ''WesternAnimation/PussInBootsTheLastWish'': The problem that Puss initially has is that he doesn’t just not fear death, he doesn’t even care about it. Since [[CatsHaveNineLives he has nine lives]], he’ll just bounce right back if something bad were to happen to him. At the beginning of the movie, he is on his last life, which makes him actually fear death and goes into retirement in order to extend his last life. Once he finds out about the wishing star, Puss goes out of retirement in order to use the wish to restore his lives. Meanwhile, a mysterious wolf hunts him down during his journey. [[spoiler: When he finally reaches the star, it’s revealed that The Wolf is actually [[TheGrimReaper Death]], and that the reason he was hunting down Puss is because of how he recklessly wasted his lives, and wanted to take his last life personally as punishment. During their final confrontation, Puss tells Death that he knows that he cannot defeat him, and that he’s a serious deal, but he does not fear him, and will keep fighting for his life until he cannot fight anymore. This is what encourages Death to put away his blades, and lets Puss live out the rest of his days until his time truly comes.]]

* In ''Film/KingdomOfHeaven'' the hospitaller is told he will certainly die if he goes with the army. He replies, "All death is certain" and rides away.

* In the Bollywood Film ''Ram Jaane'', a remake of Film/AngelsWithDirtyFaces, the eponymous character has a HeelRealization and sees that he’s become a bad example to all the urchins in his old neighborhood. He blabbers uncontrollably in fear in front of them, while being led to the gallows, till they all walk away in disgust. Once he is alone, Ram walks to the noose silently and upright, showing no fear.

[[folder:Mythology and Religion]]

* ''VideoGame/JakXCombatRacing'': Poisoned, receiving death threats and a bounty on his head, Jak states that he's not bothered by any it and that he's not afraid to die. Daxter on the other hand...

* Jarvan IV from ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' exemplifies this, being the Crown Prince of Demacia, whose creed involve, aside of equally punishing everyone for any form of crimes, to [[AttackAttackAttack always attack, never retreat or surrender]]. He boasts several quotes that shows complete fearlessness towards death, such as "We shall rest when we are dead!", "Ours is but to do and die!", "Today is a good day to die!", etc, and his skill kit shows this, emphasizing on charging onto the enemy and beating the crap out of them while also hindering their attempts to escape, but most notably his Ultimate, ''Cataclysm'', where Jarvan creates an 'impassable' barrier and unless the enemy has an escape method, their escape route is blocked, and their option is just to fight, and either kill or be killed by Jarvan (and the former, he has no qualms about it). And for the record, most of the time, Jarvan doesn't intend to get out of it, especially when said move is more often used at the middle of enemy ranks and probably attracting enemies to wail on his tough body while his allies pick off the distracted.
** Subverted by some actual Jarvan play. There's a play where Jarvan uses his Cataclysm on enemies under his own turret -- only to Flash out of it and run away while they are stuck inside.
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel IV'', because [[spoiler:Rean has become the chosen one to become a sacrifice for the curse of Erebonia, he ends up accepting that he will have to die, something that his friends call him out on but ultimately concede as Rean's essentially living his last moments with them. When the time comes to finally sacrifice his life to save the world and his friends, he takes it as he, Crow, and Millium (Crow's life is tied to Rean's and Millium's mostly dead already and her soul is confined inside the Sword of Demise that Rean's been using throughout ''Cold Steel IV'') sacrifice their lives to destroy Ishmelga and the Great One for good.]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]
* Shirou Emiya from ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' is also a man without the fear of death. In fact, he is literally unable to value his own life, with his main drive being his dream of becoming a Hero of Justice able to save everyone around him, regardless of what it will cost him.
* Shiki Tohno, the protagonist of ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'', has very frail health and is perfectly at peace with the fact that any moment, his life can cease for no particular reason. It helps that he literally sees death everywhere (without his glasses) [[spoiler:and has actually been killed before. Though he's not dead either. It's a little weird.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Day of the Samurai", evil ninja Kyodai Ken challenges Batman to a duel near a volcano. Eventually, the volcano erupts, and Batman suggests they postpone the match and get to safety. Kyodai roars, "It doesn't matter! Ninja do not fear death!" Sure enough, when he is about to die, Kyodai [[WorthyOpponent stoically bows to Batman]] before he is engulfed in lava.

** [[spoiler: Gohl didn't originally plan to escape to Earth, telling his squadron of Boazanian ex-slaves that he was willing to fight and die alongside them. However, they urged to him to flee, stating that he was their final hope for a future free of slavery and he was too valuable to die given his intelligence. Managing to safeguard a ship for his travel, they shielded him with their bodies as the Boazanian Empire's forces opened fire on them, causing a frenzied Gohl to hurry into the ship and fly as far as he could. It was by pure chance that the planet the ship eventually crash-landed on happened to be Earth, which had a populace full of people that looked like him. With the kind-hearted Mitsuyo being his First Contact, and with the other humans he met treating him like an equal, Gohl fell in love with the planet and felt a new hope for the future.]]

* Dr. Henry Morgan of ''Series/Forever2014'' is immortal, having been killed the first time in 1814 by a flintlock pistol. Fellow immortal Adam has a theory that they can only be killed for good by the weapon that killed them the first time. When Adam reveals he has Henry's flintlock, fully restored and used to fire a warning shot, Henry angrily asks Adam if that was his goal all along, to test a theory? When he defiantly asks Adam if he thinks Henry is afraid to die, Adam replies no, but Henry is afraid of his immortality being exposed.

** Indeed, this is almost a prerequisite for a pirate who takes a chance with Devil Fruit; because you lose the ability to swim, it means you'll risk drowning the until the end of your career (no matter how it happens).

* "Music/DontFearTheReaper" from ''Music/AgentsOfFortune'' makes this its basic message.

* One of the spoken word fragments on ''Music/PinkFloyd'''s ''Music/TheDarkSideOfTheMoon'' (just as "The Great Gig In The Sky" starts) is Abbey Road doorman Gerry O'Driscoll admitting that he is not afraid to die.

* "Ain't Afraid to Die" by Music/DirEnGrey. Lampshaded during the outro, when vocalist Kyo abruptly stops singing the final lines of the song, implying that he died before he could finish.

* Invoked by name in the lyrics of ''Got A Reason'' by Music/{{Crashdiet}}.

** "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder In Throes of Increasing Wonder...]]": Louis suffers from a nervous breakdown after the death of his brother Paul, and while confessing his sins to Father Matthias, it's plain that he wants to follow Paul to the grave. Louis is wracked with guilt and shame over his numerous failures, and it's important to note that this scene is Louis being the most honest with himself in all of Season 1. It's because he's so broken that he later accepts Lestat de Lioncourt's offer to kill him as a human and be reborn as a vampire.

** The people of Ammon, formerly violent thieves and murderers, are converted to the gospel and [[TheAtoner deeply repentant]] about their past behaviour. Fearing that they could relapse, they all swear an ActualPacifist oath, and hold to it even when their unconverted brethren turn up and begin slaughtering them en masse. Ammon has to get specific instructions from God to even persuade them to run away.

* It's also a prerequisite in the ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'' campaign, seeing as Athas is a DeathWorld where learning how to survive is far more important than learning to read. Water and food are scarce, the wildlife is deadly, humans are worse, and to top it off, [[there are [[MadeASlave fates worse]] [[GladiatorGames than death here.]]

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', the Phoenix Guard are the personal bodyguards of the elven Phoenix King. As part of their initiation into this most elite unit, they are shown a vision of the circumstances of their death. In the tabletop, this grants them a +4 Ward save (the "Witness to Destiny" special rule) to represent their PlotArmor. In ''VideoGame/TotalWarWarhammer'', this manifests as having a ''whopping'' Leadership score of 90 (most elite units in other armies have around 70-ish) and they cause Fear as their DissonantSerenity as they carve through enemy units with their halberds unnerves all but the most hardened or deranged of their foes.

* [[AllThereInTheManual Supplementary information]] for ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'''s [[MultiMookMelee Salmon]] [[TimedMission Run]] mode says that the [[TheHorde Salmonids]], the FishPeople the players fight, are not afraid of death. This is because Salmonid culture has them fighting while wielding cookware such as {{frying pan|OfDoom}}s and barbecue grillers and whatnot, to make themselves look "[[LetsMeetTheMeat tasty]]". It was also said that other sea creatures killing and eating Salmonids is their way of becoming one with the world and the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

* ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'' Spottedleaf isn't afraid to die and often uses dark humor to mock the idea of death, inspiring Firestar to be the same way. She maintains this attitude even after her physical death, facing getting [[DeaderThanDead killed again]] and her spirit facing an unknown fate with the same fearless curiosity about the unknown.

* In the ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''[=/=]''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero'' crossover ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7263810/1/The-Left-Hand-of-the-Death-God The Left Hand of the Death God]]'', Tabitha's dragon Sylphid reveals in an InnerMonologue that it is not afraid of death because death is a law of nature and is inevitable. Sylphid adds that while it may not fear death, it is not stupid enough to seek it out.
* In ''Fanfic/NightmaresAreTragic'', the fact that Luna is willing to die to defeat her possessing Nightshadow (because she will at least [[IDieFree die free]] and save those she loves) is a major plot point: the Nightshadow cannot [[EvilCannotComprehendGood comprehend]] that she means to expose them both to the [[CareBearStare Rainbow of Harmony]] if this is what it takes to win.

* In ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', Peter Wisdom is mentioned as being "entirely indifferent to the prospect of dying" - [[TheUnfettered one of the things that makes him terrifyingly dangerous]].
* ''Fanfic/CodeGeassPaladinsOfVoltron'':
** Suzaku is this more than a DeathSeeker like in canon - he isn't throwing himself into suicidal situations anymore, but when it appears that he will be killed fighting Zarkon, he merely closes his eyes and attempts to FaceDeathWithDignity.
** When Shin Hyūga Shaing is brought in to replace Nonette as a member of the Knights of the Round, Luciano Bradley tosses a knife at him which he effortlessly dodges. When Luciano explains that it was to test how much Shin valued his life, the Knight of Ten is left floored by Shin shooting it down by saying that he sees no value in his life.

* ''Fanfic/FateDxDAU'': Ritsuka Fujimaru isn't afraid to die, which means he doesn't hesitate to do stunts like jumping out of the sky to tackle an opponent. His Servants repeatedly confronted him about this and say his recklessness may get him killed, but he refuses to stop out of a need to prove he is useful.

** In "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder In Throes of Increasing Wonder...]]", Louis suffers from a nervous breakdown after the death of his brother Paul, and while confessing his sins to Father Matthias, it's plain that he wants to follow Paul to the grave. Louis is wracked with guilt and shame over his numerous failures, and it's important to note that this scene is Louis being the most honest with himself in all of Season 1. It's because he's so broken that he later accepts Lestat de Lioncourt's offer to kill him as a human and be reborn as a vampire.

** In "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E2AfterThePhantomsOfYourFormerSelf ...After the Phantoms of Your Former Self]]", Louis is so profoundly upset and disgusted at himself after he almost ate his nephew that he's shedding TearsOfBlood, and he encourages his lover Lestat to burn him alive and replace him with someone else.

** According to Rashid in "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E5AVileHungerForYourHammeringHeart A Vile Hunger for Your Hammering Heart]]", Louis longs for death, so the memoir that Daniel Molloy will publish based on their second interview will mean that Louis will be slaughtered by other vampires. Louis doesn't deny it.

** In "[[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E6LikeAngelsPutInHellByGod Like Angels Put in Hell by God]]", Louis is tempted to kill himself after Claudia catches a train to New York, although he ultimately doesn't go through with it.

** In [[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E1InThroesOfIncreasingWonder the series premiere]], Louis suffers from a nervous breakdown after the death of his brother Paul, and while confessing his sins to Father Matthias, it's plain that he wants to follow Paul to the grave. Louis is wracked with guilt and shame over his numerous failures, and it's important to note that this scene is Louis being the most honest with himself in all of Season 1. It's because he's so broken that he later accepts Lestat de Lioncourt's offer to kill him as a human and be reborn as a vampire.

** In [[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E2AfterThePhantomsOfYourFormerSelf the second episode]], Louis is so profoundly upset and disgusted at himself after he almost ate his nephew that he's shedding TearsOfBlood, and he encourages his lover Lestat to burn him alive and replace him with someone else.

** According to Rashid in [[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E5AVileHungerForYourHammeringHeart the fifth episode]], Louis longs for death, so the memoir that Daniel Molloy will publish based on their second interview will mean that Louis will be slaughtered by other vampires. Louis doesn't deny it.

** In [[Recap/InterviewWithTheVampire2022S1E6LikeAngelsPutInHellByGod the sixth episode]], Louis is tempted to kill himself after Claudia catches a train to New York, although he ultimately doesn't go through with it.

** In the second episode, Louis is so profoundly upset and disgusted at himself after he almost ate his nephew that he's shedding TearsOfBlood, and he encourages his lover Lestat to burn him alive and replace him with someone else.

** According to Rashid in the fifth episode, Louis longs for death, so the memoir that Daniel Molloy will publish based on their second interview will mean that Louis will be slaughtered by other vampires. Louis doesn't deny it.

** In the sixth episode, Louis is tempted to kill himself after Claudia catches a train to New York, although he ultimately doesn't go through with it.

** In the series premiere, Louis suffers from a nervous breakdown after the death of his brother Paul, and while confessing his sins to Father Matthias, it's plain that he wants to follow Paul to the grave. Louis is wracked with guilt and shame over his numerous failures, and it's important to note that this scene is Louis being the most honest with himself in all of Season 1. It's because he's so broken that he later accepts Lestat de Lioncourt's offer to kill him as a human and be reborn as a vampire.

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Terra of the Left is unafraid of dying because he's completely confident that he will go to Heaven, despite his ''incredibly depraved'' actions. [[spoiler:As Terra's dying, Acqua of the Back tells him he will obviously go to Hell for his sins, and Terra finally loses his smugness as he glares at Acqua before succumbing to his wounds.]]

* In ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', Louise and the other nobles constantly say they are willing to give their lives to defend their kingdom, and will go on a SuicideMission if commanded to by royalty. Saito constantly calls them out on how stupid this is. [[spoiler: During Saito's HeroicSacrifice in the season 2 finale (don't worry, he gets better) he fights not to die, but to live and see Louise and the others again.]]

* Milkit from ''LightNovel/RollOverAndDie'' is zigzagged example. Her view on death is connected to her CharacterDevelopment and relationship with Flum. When she is first introduced, she didn’t particularly care if she lived or died. After meeting Flum, she started to value her own life more, and she has stated how she didn’t wish to die because she has something to live for. However, [[spoiler:when Flum’s life is in danger after being captured by Satils, Milkit doesn’t hesitate to put her life in danger to save Flum. As far as she is concerned living without Flum is scarier than her own death.]]

* In the ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''[=/=]''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'' crossover ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7263810/1/The-Left-Hand-of-the-Death-God The Left Hand of the Death God]]'', Tabitha's dragon Sylphid reveals in an InnerMonologue that it is not afraid of death because death is a law of nature and is inevitable. Sylphid adds that while it may not fear death, it is not stupid enough to seek it out.

** Their sons, who learned the same fearlessness but never swore the oath, sign up for the army instead. They are such fierce fighters that on at least one occasion they frighten a much larger force into surrendering.