History Main / NothingPersonal

* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel

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* During ''WesternAnimation/{{Spawn}}: The Animated Series'', Jason Wynn sends corrupt government agents to assassinate Terry after he finds out Wynn was behind the shipment of illegal weapons. During the hunt, they chase him into a military warehouse. While there, a female employee runs into one of the agents who doesn't hesitate to kill her.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1376521501035547200
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* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', Starrk says this to Kyoraku just before shooting him in the back. The reason why he got the chance to do so, incidentally, was because Kyoraku took Wonderweiss's attack on Ukitake rather personally.
* In ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', when Beelzebumon comes after the Tamers to fulfill his DealWithTheDevil, he claims that it's just business and following through with the deal (odds are, given how conflicted he was to attack people he kinda liked, he's probably more telling himself that than he is them). Then he [[spoiler:kills Leomon]] and it promptly [[BloodKnight goes to his head]], subverting the trope.
* In a filler arc of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', Gohan encounters Goku's old nemesis Mercenary Tao in a remote village. When Tao is ordered by his employer to kill an old man who was causing trouble for them, he says "Nothing personal, old man. This is just a job."

** [[AxCrazy Yami Marik]] plays this trope for ''horror''. Most of the torturous Shadow games he dishes out have no personal vendetta in them, he's just a {{Sadist}} who wants to torture everyone around him ForTheEvulz. His duel agaist May in the Sub really plays this up, where he speaks to her politely while torturing her to madness. Makes one wonder what he does to people he hates.
* [[TokenGoodTeammate Dieci]] said this to herself before getting into a BeamOWar with Nanoha in ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikers''. Nanoha didn't take it personally either, even thought Dieci was [[MamaBear standing between her and her daughter]].
* In ''Manga/VinlandSaga'', Thorkell the Tall is a BloodKnight who loves fighting and believes that anyone who dies sword in hand goes to [[WarriorHeaven Valhalla (or Folkvangr)]]. Consequently, the fortunes of war are never a personal matter to him; fighting is fighting and dead is dead. If he happens to kill someone's son, hey, it was a fight. If one of his friends happen to be cut down by the other side, hey, it was a fight. The only thing he does take personal are people who [[DangerousDeserter try to sneak out of the fighting]] or take the fun out of the fight with assassinations and dirty tricks.
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', after giving the titular protagonist a good beatdown during the Chunin Exams, Neji tries to convince him to give up by saying that he has nothing personal against him. For Naruto, however, it's ''very'' personal due to what Neji did to Hinata in the preliminaries.
* In the anime/manga version of ''Literature/TheHeroicLegendOfArslan'', Kharlan attempted to kill Arslan, not out of malice, but pragmatism to [[spoiler: eliminate any threats to Hilmes ascending the throne]]. He even tells Arslan that he didn't do anything wrong in particular but regardless, Arslan must be killed.

* Morlun, a thousand-years-old immortal that preys on beings with animal-like powers, gave us a funny dialogue based on it when he encountered Franchise/SpiderMan:
-->'''Morlun:''' This is how it's going to be. You will run. I will hunt you.(...) But finally you will fall from power. And then you will die. But you have my word. It's nothing personal.\\
'''Spider-Man:''' Wait a second. You say you want to kill me and claim it's nothing personal? Nothing personal?! Listen, man. I was fighting with every kind of jerk on this planet. I was fighting with freaks, mutants, aliens, and superequipped gangs... God dammit, I was fighting even with my own costume! And you know what? You're the first one, that really pissed me off!
** The Shocker at one point kidnaps Spider-man as revenge for years of having his crimes foiled, though it's implied that a large part of it is him being angry over Spider-man's constant mockery, and tortures the hero. Spider-man uses a more heroic form of this argument and points out that he wasn't doing it to spite Shocker, but because Shocker was going on constant crime sprees.
* In ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'', we see a flashback to the climactic final confrontation between Literature/SherlockHolmes and James Moriarty. They make it clear to one another that this isn't a manner of personal spite and immediately begin fighting to the death. Of course, once Moriarty ''loses'', he immediately complains and calls Holmes a "drug-addicted sodomite".
* Lampshaded and subverted by Underworld in a Marvel Civil War comic. He visits the injured Hammerhead in the hospital, then tells him about a time that Hammerhead had grievously injured a friend of his for a petty amount of money. [[spoiler:Underworld puts a gun in Hammerhead's mouth and, before pulling the trigger, says "It's always personal, ya mook."]]

* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel
** [[ComicBook/UltimateMarvel Ultimate Hulk vs Wolverine]] had a variation; after ripping Wolverine in half, Hulk is about to eat one of Wolverine's legs, letting him choose which one. Wolverine gets understandably pissed off, which prompts Hulk to say "You're taking this way too personal...", commenting that if he doesn't eat one leg, Wolverine will just reattach them and chase after him. When Logan says he'll do that anyway, Hulk comments that he's just giving him motivation to eat both legs.
** ''ComicBook/AllNewUltimates'': Taskmaster does not really care about the Ultimates. Roxxon pays a lot of money for them, and he just wants the job.

* In a crossover between ComicBook/ThePunisher and Music/{{Eminem}}[[note]]Discussed [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18785_6-comic-book-crossovers-you-wont-believe-actually-happened.html here]], second entry[[/note]], Barracuda, a childhood friend of Em's, hits him with this line after he's captured both Em and the Punisher.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Shadowpact}}'', the Pentacle tell the townspeople whom they have trapped in a giant magic prison shield that they will choose sacrifices at random from their number. They explain that it's nothing personal, it's just bad luck that their town was chosen, more people will be sacrificed if they try to resist, and that everything will be easier if they just go along with it. The Pentacle's leader Strega explains all of this with an eerily calm business-like tone.
* This is part of [[Characters/TheFlashTheRogues Captain Cold's]] general M.O., with him making it very clear that his villainy is merely his business model and enforcing a strict code of honor among his henchmen and those he works with to make sure it never gets personal. The times he breaks this rule in regard to himself are against Chillblaine, the man who killed his sister; and, later, against Inertia, for tricking the Rogues into killing Bart Allen and making them the top public enemies.

* Jack from ''[[ComicBook/SilentHill Silent Hill: Sinner's Reward]]'' claims all of the murders done by him are just business, because he's a [[ProfessionalKiller hit man]] who's JustFollowingOrders. The one he tries to persuade doesn't buy it, insisting that ItsPersonal for her, especially since some of his marks are people close to her.

* Used by the invading alien in the movie ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens''. It's not personal he's going to wipe out most of Earth's population and enslave the rest.

* In the Disney movie ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuersDownUnder'', Mcleach says this to Cody when [[spoiler:he tries to feed him to some crocodiles. He claims to be doing it because he doesn't want to disappoint the rangers (who he had tricked into thinking Cody had been eaten by crocodiles earlier in the movie).]]
%%* Used in ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'', which isn't surprising since the whole movie seems to parody ''Film/TheGodfather''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'', it's "nothing personal" that Captain Caleano and her crew plan to toss the ponies and Spike overboard. They are after all, just a PunchClockVillain crew. Thus, it's no surprise that they're willing to stop for a lunch break and are so readily convinced by Rainbow Dash initiating a song number - they don't have any personal stake in it. They've just been following orders.

* The page-topping quote is one of the most famous examples, coming from ''Film/TheGodfather''.
** Though Santino is the hot-headed one, when he hears Michael's decision to [[spoiler: kill Solozzo]], he laughs and berates him for making the matter too personal. Michael's response?
-->'''Michael:''' [[TropeNamer "It's not personal. Strictly business."]]
** And again in ''Film/TheGodfather'', used by Tessio to Hagen at the end, [[spoiler: explaining the reason for betraying Michael]].
* In the movie ''Film/{{Taken}}'', one of the antagonists uses this. [[spoiler:The protagonist, who is on a RoaringRampageOfRescue to save his daughter, replies "It was always personal to me" and shoots him anyway.]]

* Said by SmugSnake Lord Cutler Beckett in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'':

-->'''Lieutenant Theodore Groves''': ''(sees the ''Black Pearl'' on standby)'' What are they waiting for?
-->'''Lord Cutler Beckett''': He expects us to honor our agreement. ''(The ''Endeavour'' readies her cannons)'' It's nothing personal, Jack. It's just good business.
** And ironically repeated in [[spoiler: his delightful death scene.]]

* Also, in ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', Dr. Kaufman has murdered [[spoiler:Paris Carver, Film/JamesBond's old flame]] and tries to kill him as well. When Bond gets the upper hand, the villain pleads:
-->'''Dr. Kaufman''': I'm just a professional doing a job.
-->'''Bond''': Me too. [BANG!]
* ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' used the phrase as its TagLine. (probably to parody a [[VoodooShark really infamous]] [[Film/JawsTheRevenge case of using]] ItsPersonal)
* The romantic comedy ''Film/YouveGotMail'' [[KickTheSonOfABitch emphatically rejects the trope]]: ''Godfather'' fan Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) runs the chain of mega-bookstores that ran the little specialist bookstore owned by Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) to the ground:
--> '''Joe''': It wasn't personal.
--> '''Kathleen''': What is that supposed to mean?! I am so sick of that. All it means is that it wasn't personal to you. But it was personal to me. It's personal to a lot of people. And what's so wrong with being personal anyway?
--> '''Joe''': Uh, nothing.
--> '''Kathleen''': Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal.
* In ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', a movie that takes place during the Vietnam War, Colonel Kurtz's haunting monologue emphasizes how important this concept is for a soldier. Kurtz illustrates this by describing an occasion when he was on a humanitarian mission to help a village and they gave medication and other supplies to help the people there, but the enemy took notice of this and killed every single person there just to spite the Americans. This shook Kurtz to his core; he wept bitterly and became so depressed over what had happened he thought he was going to go insane, but then he realized that to the Vietcong, what they had done was nothing personal—they loved their families, and motivated by that love, they were willing to do anything that it took to defeat the Americans so that they would leave the country, and they could get back to their normal lives. In Kurtz's mind, he had determined that the Vietcong had the right idea on how to be a soldier: you have to be a good, moral person but at the same time, be able to tap into your instincts and be able to kill without remorse, passion or judgment. If the Americans were as dedicated as their enemy and were willing to do anything that it took to win then the war would be over very quickly.
* Used by Jelly when he's about to murder Billy Crystal, in ''Film/AnalyzeThis.'' Crystal responds, "Don't kid yourself, Jelly. It doesn't get more personal."
* ''Franchise/StarWars Episode II: Film/AttackOfTheClones'': When apprehended, the bounty hunter who attempted to assassinate Padme states, "It's just a job."
* ''Film/DrStrangelove'': Used in the second sense - "You just can't expect a bunch of ignorant peons to understand a machine like some of our our boys - and that's not meant as an insult Mr Ambassador."
* This is explored in ''Film/TheWholeNineYards''. [[ProfessionalKiller Mob hitman]] Jimmy talks about his first target for assassination, and how he spent so much time with the guy and came to like him so much that when the order came to kill him, Jimmy couldn't go through with it. Instead, Jimmy told his target the truth and warned him to run, only to have his target [[BackStab shoot him in the back]] as a result. After that, things were ''very'' [[ItsPersonal personal]] for Jimmy, and the target "[[ColdBloodedTorture took a really]] [[FateWorseThanDeath long time to die]]." Ever since then Jimmy has stuck to the assassin's code of not getting too close to your target, and remembering that it's just business.
* In ''Film/TrainingDay'', Smiley says this after [[spoiler:he spares Jake's life.]] In this case, it really isn't; Smiley hates the guy who ordered the hit a lot more than the actual victim, towards whom he harbors no particular ill will beyond a general dislike of cops. It's when the target ''makes it'' personal that his life is spared--[[spoiler:Smiley has to show his gratitude to the guy who rescued his little cousin from a pair of rapists on the street, and sticking it to Alonzo is an added bonus.]]
* In ''Film/ManOnFire'', the people involved with Pita's kidnapping that Creasy tracks down all insist that it was not personal, but just business. Eventually Creasy [[ItsPersonal just]] [[BerserkButton gets sick of this response]], warning the last person that uses it.

* A major plot-point in ''Film/NewJackCity''. When undercover cop Scotty Appleton and drug kingpin Nino Brown are hanging out one night, Nino confesses that he killed an innocent school teacher as part of an initiation into a gang. Scotty asked Nino if the killing was business or personal. Nino made it clear that all his killings are business, never personal. [[spoiler: Turns out that school teacher was Scotty Appleton's mother and he nearly kills Nino Brown during the climax, making it clear that killing his mother was personal.]]
* Used in ''Film/PoliceAcademy5AssignmentMiamiBeach'', where Lassard is kidnapped by jewel thieves as a hostage, but he thinks it's all staged for his benefit and is having the time of his life. When the kidnapper is about to shoot him, he uses this phrase, but then the other cops show up. When Lassard finally figures out the truth, he tells the kidnapper the same thing, right before punching him out.

* Victor doesn't give a damn about causes in ''Film/XMenOriginsWolverine''. Contrast his attitude toward Jimmy with ItsPersonal.
* In ''Film/{{Hellraiser}}'', Frank [[spoiler: uses this one on Julia as he buries his fingers in her neck and drains her blood, killing her.]] She turns it around on him in [[Film/HellboundHellraiserII the sequel]].
* In ''Film/TheHungerGamesMockingjayPart2'', Gale tells Katniss that he would have expected her of all people to know that what they're doing in the war against the Capitol isn't personal. She shoots back that she of all people knows that it's all personal.

* A variation in ''Film/DeathWish4TheCrackdown'' with Ed Zacharias, leader of one of the drug gangs making the stuff that killed Paul Kersey's girlfriend's daughter (because she overdosed). The leader never met her, he probably never even met the kid that peddled the drugs to her. It doesn't matters to [[VigilanteMan Kersey]] — he's one of the ''many'' that deserve to die, in any case.
-->'''Ed Zacharias''': Why are you doing this?\\
''(Kersey pulls a picture of the girl from his jacket pocket and shows it to him)''.\\
'''Ed Zacharias''': I don't even know the girl!\\
'''Paul Kersey''': [[PapaWolf I do]]. (Gives Zacharias a CoupDeGrace)
* In ''Film/Robocop2'', Cain makes a big show of expressing this towards Robocop just before tearing him to pieces.
-->'''Cain''': Jesus...had days like this...hounded and attacked like a criminal. But like him, I don't blame you. They program you, and you do it.
* In ''Film/BirdsOfPrey2020'', after Doc sells Harley Quinn out, he tells her that it was just business before leaving. Given that she trusted him implicitly, feeling he was about the only person in Gotham City who didn't have some sort of grievance against her, she is ''very'' broken up about it.

* In the Creator/AndrewVachss Burke book ''Strega'', one of the child sex offenders tries to call his child pornography "just business". This is contrasted with an earlier self-proclaimed pedophile [[EnemyMine that Burke is forced to speak civilly with,]] who speaks disdainfully of those who are "commercial" with child pornography and waxes lyrical about emotional bonds and being personal.
* In ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'', Ares does this, telling Percy that "you just might get those hardheaded idiots to listen to you. So I have to kill you. Nothing personal." It seems to be being used humorously, though.
* In ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Starfighters of Adumar]]'', Wedge's Red Flight is attacked by several Adumari ships before ever reaching the planet. After touching down Wedge speaks to the diplomatic liaison for an explanation.
--> "They were probably young, undisciplined pilots trying to achieve some [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy personal honor by killing you in a fair dogfight]]. I doubt it was anything personal."
--> "''You'' do. I take it very personally. We just had to [[StuffBlowingUp vape]] four pilots in what is theoretically a friendly zone."

* In ''Literature/{{Unwind}}'', Risa is consigned to being "unwound" (to donate ''all'' her organs) because of ''budget cuts'' at the state children's home where she lives.
* Mentioned in Creator/JonStewart's ''Literature/EarthTheBook'' (written to aliens) that humans often believed that trade was, for some strange reason, exempt from normal moral codes of conduct.

* Faquarl says to Bartimaeus fairly early on in ''The Amulet of Samarkand'', the first book in ''Literature/TheBartimaeusTrilogy''. Generally, with djinn, this is true, as they're only working on the orders of a human master, but somehow it always did seem to get rather personal between Faquarl and Bartimaeus, any claims of it not being so aside.
* In ''Literature/ThisImmortal'', after Hasan tries to kill Conrad, he assures him that it's nothing personal -- the latter is just in the way of Hasan completing his job of killing Cort Myshtigo.
* Subverted by ''Literature/TakeshiKovacs'', his favorite philosopher/revolutionary said to make everything personal. Leading to his multiple [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Roaring Rampages of Revenge]], at least one of which might be counted as a minor act of genocide.
* ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'': After [[InTheBack knifing Silchas Ruin in the back]], Scabandari takes care to explain that it's not personal, just the way things are, and since there cannot be two people as powerful as they are or there would be conflict eventually, he's going to take the preemptive measure of removing Silchas from the picture.

* In the third ''Literature/GentlemanBastard'' book, ''Republic of Thieves'', both Locke and Sabetha have been employed to handle political schemes for opposing parties, so this comes up frequently. Most notably, when Sabetha tries to have Locke and Jean sent out of the city until the election is done, she makes it clear to both of them that it's just the job, and makes sure that the ship is essentially a LuxuryPrisonSuite; Locke and Jean are, at most, slightly salty about it once they've been back for a little while. They remain on cordial enough terms that at one point, while Locke and Sabetha are catching up on their long-delayed romance, Locke's magical employer steps in as a MomentKiller.

* In ''Literature/SlaughterhouseFive'', Paul Lazzaro says he plans to put out a hit on anyone who made an enemy of him during the war (whether they knew it or not), but has nothing against the Germans who are trying to kill him because it isn't personal.

%%* Used in episode two of ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}''

* Lampshaded in ''{{Series/Smallville}}''
-->'''Lana''': And then he had the nerve to say "It's nothing personal, only business."
* From ''{{Series/Cheers}}'':
--> '''Carla Tortelli-[=LeBec=]''': It's nothing personal. Just letting off steam.

* Played to [[DarkerandEdgier disturbing]] [[DudeNotFunny and offensive]] [[UpToEleven levels]] in ''{{Series/Jessie}}'' episode "What A Steal", seeing how it's used by [[CreepyChild a "precocious" girl]], Madeline, whom Ravi can't believe merely ''pretended'' to be his friend so that she could turn around and rob him and his entire family of their valuables. [[BlatantLies "Sorry, nerd, it's just business"]], she tells him. [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior She's only ten years old, and already she's a criminal in the making]], [[LittleMissBadass even barking orders at her accomplice, who happens to be her brother who is at least ten years her senior]].
* Used in the ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}'' episode "Strictly Business": Mac's arch-nemesis Murdoc returns and announces to [=MacGyver=] that his employers, the assassination organization H.I.T., has assigned Murdoc to kill him. Mac is dumbfounded because the last time they met, they had [[EnemyMine teamed up]] against H.I.T. to rescue Murdoc's estranged sister who was kidnapped by H.I.T. when Murdoc resigned. Murdoc explains that his sister was later killed in an avalanche, giving Murdoc nothing to live for and prompting him to go back to his former life. Thus Murdoc explains his desire to kill Mac as "Nothing personal. Strictly business." (And indeed this was the only time he did so for that reason since their first meeting it was because he got in the way of his battle with Pete Thorton and the others were motivated by revenge more than anything else).
* Played with in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''; Warren says "it wasn't personal" when trying to persuade [[spoiler: Willow]] not to kill him for killing [[spoiler: Tara]]. Her response? [[ItsPersonal "This is."]]
* Common on ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' where whittling down tribes to the final numbers often causes a lot of ChronicBackstabbingDisorder. Boston Rob "The Rahbfatha" Mariano takes this to almost catchphrase levels.
* Used frequently in ''Series/BurnNotice'', both from the villains ''and'' the protagonists, although the protagonists use it more often to explain to the Victim of the Week that what the villains are planning to do to them isn't personal (as if that should matter).

* Used as the tag line of the original non-celebrity version of the American ''{{The Apprentice}}''. "It's nothing personal. It's just business."
* In the ''Series/BabylonFive'' episode "Convictions", the antagonist is a man who received the line "nothing personal, it's just the times" [[FreudianExcuse one time too often]]. As a result, he started [[MadBomber planting bombs all over the station]], with the final one placed on the station's fusion reactor, [[TakingYouWithMe rigged to a deadman switch in his hand]].
* The trope shows up in the penultimate episode of ''Series/BreakingBad''. "Just you so you know, this isn't personal": [[spoiler:Todd to Andrea.]]
* The phrase or its spirit is often dropped in ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' as the various mob bosses betray each other as soon as it's expedient for them. With [[DefiedTrope one exception]]. [[HotBlooded Gyp Rosetti]] ''detests'' the idea, thinking it a convenient out for people to ignore or excuse the damage they do.
-->'''Gyp:''' What the '''fuck''' is life, if it's not ''personal''?
* Jamie Reagan, the least likely of the ''Series/BlueBloods'' characters, says this to Mafia prince Noble Sanfino when he asks why Jamie befriended him for the sake of an undercover op. Interestingly Jamie felt enough remorse to at least try to keep the mob from assassinating him when they [[YouHaveFailedMe discovered Noble's error]].
* In ''Series/TheFlash2014'' episode "Fastest Man Alive", Harrison Wells - or rather [[BigBad Eobard Thawne]] wearing his face -- puts a knife through CorruptCorporateExecutive Simon Stagg because Stagg was talking about harnessing The Flash's power for his own gain. As Stagg bleeds out, Thawne says this:
-->'''Thawne:''' Forgive me, Simon. I'm worried you'll think this is personal. It's not. It's just that The Man in the Red Suit, The Fastest Man Alive...he must be kept safe.
* ''Series/PrisonBreak'': Before Mahone kills [[spoiler:Tweener]], he tells him "I got nothing against you, kid. But [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness they]] do." The Company's interest was only in [[HeKnowsTooMuch protecting their conspiracy]], but whereas they are completely dispassionate about murdering innocents, Mahone is visibly remorseful.
* In ''Series/{{Blindspot}}'', [[spoiler:Claudia]] says this to Reade after explaining why she tied him up, beat him and threatened to kill him. In a rare turn for the trope, he actually accepts it.
* During the ''Series/SavedByTheBellTheNewClass'' episode "Science Fair", [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Mr. Belding]], after finding out that a robot was invented by Screech instead of any of the students, states that the robot is not eligible to be presented in the ScienceFair, as it's intended strictly for inventions made by students.
-->'''Robot''': What?
-->'''Mr. Belding''': [[LampshadeHanging Nothing personal.]]

* ''Quintessence: The Blighted Venom'': At the end of Chapter 1, Lunair says to Reivier, "Nothing personal... But I'd rather not be held back by an annoyance like you."
* Sword Man in ''VideoGame/MegaMan8''. He's very businesslike, citing his orders from Doctor Wily as the only reason he's fighting.
* Several of the "mavericks" in ''VideoGame/MegaManX6'' speak amiably with X or Zero before their battle and only clash because they are on opposing sides with the hunters even trying to talk their way out of a fight. X even ''apologizes'' to Shield Sheldon before the fight because the latter was wrongfully accused by the Maverick Hunters in a previous event, which Sheldon isn't even bitter about:
--> '''X:''' I'm very sorry about the case. If only I could have been there in time.
--> '''Shield Sheldon:''' Don't be. I couldn't fulfill my role as a bodyguard, that's all.

* In the original ''VideoGame/TombRaider'', the cowboy says this when you encounter him in Natla's Mines.
* Played straight in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' when Snake talks to Naomi about why he beat her brother Gray Fox and left him to die during [[VideoGame/MetalGear2SolidSnake the events of Zanzibar Land]]. According to Snake the fight between him and Fox was nothing personal, they were simply soldiers on opposite sides and it is a soldier's job to kill the enemy, that Fox survived is something Snake is happy about for Fox was his best friend at one point. [[spoiler:Hearing this is the one of the things that makes Naomi, secretly Fox's adoptive sister who had spent ''years'' obsessing over taking revenge on Snake, [[HeelRealization realize she'd misjudged the man]].]]

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': The AffablyEvil [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyNuriXG3BQ Sniper]] is very clear on the differences between a paid assassin and a crazed lunatic when it comes to how to treat the act of murdering someone.
--> "Feelin's? You know who's got a lot of feelin's? Blokes that bludgeon their wives to death with a golf trophy. Professionals have standards."
* Early in ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRenegade'', [[OneManArmy Havoc]] is informed that his former teammate Sakura, [[PrivateMilitaryContractors a mercenary]], now works for the enemy. At some point she catches Havoc and holds him at gunpoint:
-->'''Havoc:''' Still pissed?
-->'''Sakura:''' No... but I do have to kill you. Part of the job, you know.
** In [[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerGenerals Generals]], the GLA HeroUnit will sometimes say, "Business is business," when ordered to make a kill, which definitely strikes of this trope.
* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': Just before [[spoiler: Benny attempts to kill you and set the game's plot in motion]], he insists that the whole situation is a case of "wrong place at the wrong time".
* ''VideoGame/Portal2'': When [=GLaDOS=] hints that she was going to [[spoiler:kill Chell and start testing robots instead,]] she claims this trope (Of course, [[SelfProclaimedLiar considering]] [[{{Tsundere}} her]] [[EvilIsPetty personality ...]]):
-->"It's nothing personal. After all, you did kill me. Fair's fair."
* This turns up a lot in ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore''. You're a mercenary, and generally any enemy pilots you fight are mercenaries from the same group you work for. Business is business, and just because you were allies earlier is no reason to hold back now. Outside of the storyline, only a small minority of pilots are actually interested in fighting specifically you.
* ''VideoGame/EternalSonata'' has [[spoiler:Rondo use this on Claves when she kills her. "Sorry, but I was ordered to kill you if your identity was revealed. Nothing personal."]]
* In ''VideoGame/TheGodfather 2'', [[spoiler: Hyman Roth]] tries to offer this when you confront him for the last time.
* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'', BigBad Jon Irenicus captures and tortures the PlayerCharacter and their companions for purely instrumental reasons. They are likely to have all hate for him, but he didn't even know them beforehand, and aside from his [[{{Revenge}} ultimate goal]] is quite thoroughly pragmatic even in the atrocities he commits. It's summed up in the opening narration: "There was no malice, no hatred. No mention of an old score. Only a quick capture and the promise of grim deeds to come."

* In ''VideoGame/BorderlandsThePreSequel'', the FramingDevice is that Athena is narrating the game's events to the Crimson Raiders, and, in True Vault Hunter Mode, Tiny Tina. At one pont, she explains to Tina that on the battlefield, situations change, so she doesn't hold the time Lilith tried to kill her during gameplay personally. [[spoiler:She's still a bit ticked off about Lilith trying to kill her a couple of hours ago, though.]]
* In ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'', upon finding him in his jail cell, [[spoiler:[[AntiVillain Richter]]]] claims that [[spoiler:killing the Hooker and attempting to assassinate Jacket]] was not anything personal (and in ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber'' he apologizes for it), claiming that he, like Jacket, [[spoiler:is just another PunchClockVillain being roped into a hitman ring by the people leaving messages on his phone]]. The player has the option to kill him or not.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOrigins:'' A man calling himself The Butcher tries doing this when confronted by Bayek, stating that what he's doing (oppressing the people of Egypt and slowly crushing their culture) is "just business". Bayek roars back that to him, it's ''very'' personal, and then proceeds to kill him.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'', getting to the final act [[spoiler:without having gone Anarchist]] nets your character a letter from [[spoiler:Bleden Mark]] warning you that he's probably going to be given the order to kill you and that what's about to go down isn't personal... [[ForTheEvulz But he'd probably still kill you even if given the choice not to]]. If you instead [[spoiler:go Anarchist by pissing off every other faction]], he will instead say this to [[spoiler:Tunon just before he's about to kill him on your behalf.]]
* A rare heroic ([[LovableRogue sorta]]) example with ''VideoGame/SlyCooper''. Sly’s about as laidback as a PhantomThief can get and rarely, if ever, has any sort of personal beef with the people he robs, especially his fellow thieves. When going against other criminals, he regularly offers multiple chances to end things peacefully, and even when forced to fight them, he rarely ever shows any malice or anger; he just really needs something they have, otherwise he wouldn’t even be bothering them. The only villains who manage to genuinely incur his wrath are [[YouKilledMyFather Clockwerk]], [[ManipulativeBastard Neyla]], [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain General Tsao]], and [[spoiler:[[SixthRangerTraitor Penelope]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}'', Corvo is framed for the murder of the Empress and sentenced to death by [[BigBad Hiram Burrows]], who assures him that it's nothing personal and they simply needed someone to take the fall. [[SarcasmMode Real comforting]].
--> '''Hiram Burrows:''' There was nothing personal in this, even though you almost sank our plans. But it turned out well. You were in the wrong place at the right time, and ''someone'' has to take the fall. Goodbye, Corvo.
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheSacredStones'': Caellach's battle quote when you confront him in Chapter 16:
-->"You're a stepping stone. And I'm moving up. Don't take it personally."
* In the first mission of ''VideoGame/ProjectWingman'', the Master Goose mercenary squadron arrives too late to save their contractors from Sicario, with the squadron leader choosing to stand down, saying that its ‘just good business’. [[spoiler:In Mission 16, Master Goose squadron sides with Frost Druid after the Federation put a bounty on Hitman squadron, with Master Goose One once again saying that its ‘just good business’.]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{PoppyOPossum}}'', Fazzi [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] this by specifically stating that the ensuing fight ''isn't'' business, ItsPersonal.

* ''Wiki/{{Uncyclopedia}}'': [[http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/UnBooks:Only_Business Only Business]]

* The Website/JollyRogerTelephoneCompany is a web-based company which provides bots which are designed to waste the time of telemarketers and other unwanted callers. Recordings of these calls are sometimes posted on Website/YouTube. Company founder Roger Anderson often states in the commentary provided with the recordings of the calls that he doesn't have anything personal against individual telemarketers. He just hates their business model and wants to put it out of business.
* ''WebAnimation/InanimateInsanity'' II: After Nickel treats Suitcase overly harshly, Baseball sits down with her and tells her that it's nothing personal to make her feel better. When Suitcase votes for Nickel, getting him eliminated in that same episode, Baseball asks her if their conversation meant nothing. She says it has never been personal since they hardly even talk. Several episodes later, Baseball votes for and eliminates the strongest contender and likewise states that [[ThisIsACompetition it's nothing personal]].

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS1E12TheGunganGeneral "The Gungan General"]] when Hondo is trying to ensure his hostages will think twice before pulling another escape attempt he gives them the following ineffective speech:
-->''"I don't want to kill you, per se, in fact you seem like decent fellows, [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg even you Count]]. This is just business, and once I get my money, we can go back to being friends."''
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Jinx said it right before attacking her ex-team mates in the series' penultimate episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'': When Trigon tells Raven to kill all her friends he states it's nothing personal and that it's just the last step in being truly demonic.

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': Dirt Boss turns Bulkhead into a [[PeoplePuppets People Puppet]] and plans on using him to create an explosion at an oil refinery...while his fellow Constructicon Mixmaster is attached to him. Dirt Boss himself doesn't even respond to Mix's protests, while Scrapper tells Mix it's nothing personal.
* When [[WesternAnimation/InvaderZim Tak tries to steal Zim's mission]], she claims it's not about revenge; she only wants to take back what's rightfully hers, since he ruined ''her'' mission years ago. He can't get this subtle distinction through his head.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' (the ''Goodfeathers'' segment) The three protagonists are angry after the plot puts them through the wringer - like always - and halfway through, Pesto smacks Squit in the face:
-->'''Squit:''' What was that for??
-->'''Pesto:''' Nothin'. Just felt like whackin' somebody.

** In the anime/manga version of ''Literature/TheHeroicLegendOfArslan'', Kharlan attempted to kill Arslan, not out of malice, but pragmatism to [[spoiler: eliminate any threats to Hilmes ascending the throne]]. He even tells Arslan that he didn't do anything wrong in particular but regardless, Arslan must be killed.

* In ''ComicBook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'', we see a flashback to the climactic final confrontation between SherlockHolmes and James Moriarty. They make it clear to one another that this isn't a manner of personal spite and immediately begin fighting to the death. Of course, once Moriarty ''loses'', he immediately complains and calls Holmes a "drug-addicted sodomite".

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' has Fate starting off like this. He actually says he doesn't have anything against Negi, but beats the crap out of him because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Eventually after Negi [[MinorInjuryOverreaction lands a punch on him]], he switches to ItsPersonal, which escalates to TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou levels.

* ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'': When [=GLaDOS=] hints that she was going to [[spoiler:kill Chell and start testing robots instead,]] she claims this trope (Of course, [[SelfProclaimedLiar considering]] [[{{Tsundere}} her]] [[EvilIsPetty personality ...]]):

* In ''VideoGame/BaldursGate II'', BigBad Jon Irenicus captures and tortures the PlayerCharacter and their companions for purely instrumental reasons. They are likely to have all hate for him, but he didn't even know them beforehand, and aside from his [[{{Revenge}} ultimate goal]] is quite thoroughly pragmatic even in the atrocities he commits. It's summed up in the opening narration: "There was no malice, no hatred. No mention of an old score. Only a quick capture and the promise of grim deeds to come."

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie, Lord Business says this when he [[spoiler: leaves his Bad Cop to be killed with the Master Builders]]; "It's nothing personal, just business. ''Lord Business.''"

* Said by SmugSnake Lord Cutler Becket in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanAtWorldsEnd'':
-->'''Lord Cutler Beckett''': He actually expects us to honor our agreement. Nothing personal, Jack... it's just good business.

* ''Fanfic/JWITCHSeason1'': The Dark Chi Enforcers, especially Ratso, state this attitude towards the Guardians several times -- they're only fighting them because Wong and Phobos are making them, not because they want too.

* During the ''Series/SavedByTheBellTheNewClass'' episode "ScienceFair", [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Mr. Belding]], after finding out that a robot was invented by Screech instead of any of the students, states that the robot is not eligible to be presented in the science fair, as it's intended strictly for inventions made by students.

* Jack from ''[[ComicBook/SilentHill Silent Hill: Sinner's Reward]]'' claims all of the murders done by him are just business, because he's a ProfessionalHitman who's JustFollowingOrders. The one he tries to persuade doesn't buy it, insisting that ItsPersonal for her, especially since some of his marks are people close to her.