Line #35 ThouShaltNotKill/AnimeAndManga


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9	* ''Manga/SazanEyes'':
10	** Yakumo is usually merciful and a NiceGuy, so it is very rare for him to actually kill monsters, even those who just tried to kill him. Still, if the situation calls for it or against mooks, he will resort to lethal force.
11	** Oddly enough the BigBad Kaiyanwang enforces this trope on his minions regarding humans: since his final objective is to gather again all the light which was once unique and was spread among all humanity when the humanized Sanzhiyan and hominids bred, he doesn't want any of them to die. It is less nice than it sounds, as he wants them alive to remove their "light" and soul, turning them into living but unconscious, twisted husks.
12	* In ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'', everyone except for Korosensei is off-limits for Class 3-E. He has only had to explicitly forbid his students from killing humans twice: once before they went up against Gastro, and the other to prevent [[spoiler: Nagisa from murdering Takaoka]].
13	* Roger Smith in ''Anime/TheBigO'' lives by a self-imposed code of ethics. It appears to trend towards not killing people as he is very reluctant to use any form of firearm, and when pushed to use one will shoot at objects rather than people.
14	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'':
15	** Most of the main cast members [[{{Shinigami}} who aren't dead]] at least ''try'' to follow this, save for when fighting run-of-the-mill [[TheHeartless Hollows]]. [[TheMedic Inoue Orihime]] not only hasn't harmed anyone seriously since her powers first emerged, but ''can't'' due to her personality. Unfortunately, she tends to believe that this makes her a burden on her friends, despite that [[spoiler:she can ''[[RealityWarper reject reality]]'' to the point where she can heal a corpse with half of their brains blown out. The fact that it was someone who had shown up simply to try and ''torture'' her for no reason other than spite is just icing on the cake]].
16	** Oddly enough, Ichigo didn't kill a single Arrancar in his invasion of Hueco Mundo, at least not consciously; he let Dordoni and [[BloodKnight Grimmjow]] live, his SuperpoweredEvilSide took out [[NobleDemon Ulquiorra]], and the mooks he cut down were revealed to be fakes generated by another Arrancar. This is somewhat jarring when compared with Fake Karakura Town, where both of the Espada's {{Token Good Teammate}}s are cut down without anybody batting an eye ([[spoiler:though one of these, [[TheSmurfettePrinciple the lone female]], survives]]).
17	*** It's debateable whether Ichigo avoids killing because he's following a code, or because he just doesn't feel like it. It's even [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Urahara. During his fight with Renji, he gets over it. Renji still lives, but Ichigo was able to put the thoughts behind him and kill him if necessary. In one arc the villain is revealed to have [[BackstoryInvader altered the past of Ichigo's friends and family]], making them believe him to be their friend and turning on Ichigo when he attacks him. Once Ichigo hears the details, the first thing he asks is if they'll change back if he kills the person who did it. [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness He looks quite scary when he says it]].
18	* ''Manga/BungoStrayDogs'': Oda refuses to kill, as he believes that a novelist should create lifes instead of destroying them, which earns him the lowest position in the mafia despite his skills. [[spoiler: He gives up this belief after Mimic kills all the orphans he takes in, and ultimately dies after shooting someone.]]
19	* ''Manga/CallOfTheNight'': [[spoiler:Azami initially believes that Yamori is another vampire after the latter flies into and punches him while they're both hundreds of feet in the air. In order to test this theory, Azami nonchalantly [[WouldHurtAChild drops Yamori off a building]] to see if he can actually fly. Once it becomes clear that he can't, Azami promptly jumps off after Yamori [[NotSoStoic while panicking to hell and back]], dreading the very thought of becoming a murderer. This extends to murder by inaction, seeing how he saves Yamori from being flattened by rubble after his fight with Susuki, even though at this point they are not exactly allies just yet. However, [[GodzillaThreshold Azami is prepared to make an exception when it comes to Kiku]], who at this point in time is attracting too much attention and threatens to break the {{masquerade}}; as her offspring, Azami believes that he is the only one allowed to kill her.]]
20	* In ''Manga/CaseClosed'', Conan/Shinichi always refuse to let a suspect end up dead, even the suspect tries to kill him. He would even try to save the suspect's life even if it risks his own life.
21	* In ''Literature/ACertainMagicalIndex'', Touma Kamijou is noted for his ability to defeat bad guys and solve problems without killing anybody, and he'll even save his enemies' lives. In the light novel version, he came close to crossing the line when Aureolus Dummy turned a girl into a gold statue and then melted her. In a rage, Touma beat him half to death, then was horrified and allowed him to leave.
22	* In ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'', the Claymores are forbidden from killing humans, even if it's an accident or is done to protect another human. The punishment is immediate execution. However, there have been Claymores who are perfectly willing to kill humans. For example, [[spoiler: Teresa]] slaughtered a group of bandits to protect [[spoiler: Clare]] then went rogue and there was Ophelia who took sadistic pleasure in torturing and killing humans and fellow Claymores, but was just sure to kill all the witnesses so no one would find out.
23	* ''Manga/CodeBreaker'' has the main character [[ActionGirl Sakura]] who goes to great lengths to prevent Rei and others from killing, as she believes all life is precious. However after the Re:Code arc, expect her personality to [[{{Flanderization}} be centered around this]].
24	* Dr. Orson from ''Manga/ACruelGodReigns'' stresses this to Jeremy while he is counseling him before his death. He tells him that killing will only succeed in harming his own soul in the end. Subverted when Jeremy, while still considering this, commits VehicularSabotage.
25	* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'':
26	** In ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'', the Digidestined are afraid of killing Digimon, and avoid it whenever possible (unlike their predecessors, when they fought the forces of Etemon, Myotismon, and the Dark Masters). The only exceptions are Control Spire Digimon (MadeOfEvil, destructive by default, and not considered "alive"), Kimeramon (created by the Digimon Emperor/[[spoiler:Ken]]), [=MaloMyotismon=] (pure evil and the main villain behind everything that season), and Airdramon (for [[PlotHole unknown reasons]]). They are forced to kill [=SkullSatamon=], [=LadyDevimon=], and [=MarineDevimon=], and Yolei and Cody are shocked when this happens (though Cody knew they'd have to destroy [=MarineDevimon=]), though TK and Kari reassure them it was the right thing to do.
27	** The characters in ''Anime/DigimonGhostGame'' also follow this rule. Hiro in particular prefers TalkingTheMonsterToDeath, and in most cases this is the best approach since the MonsterOfTheWeek is either hostile due to a misunderstanding or too strong to defeat otherwise. However, there ''are'' truly malicious Digimon that can’t be convinced, and his hesitance to fight them can put the group in more danger.
28	* ''Franchise/DragonBall'':
29	** Goku strongly personifies this trope when he's an adult[[labelnote:*]] as a kid in ''Manga/DragonBall'' Goku actually killed a lot villains like Buyon, Tambourine, King Piccolo and Officer Black, although only that last one was strictly human. [[/labelnote]] (so much so that is almost considered a RunningGag) as he refuses to kill even the most evil opponents. In the original ''Manga/DragonBall'', he spares Piccolo Jr., at that time considered a demon who also just tried to kill him. In ''Anime/DragonBallZ'', he chooses to let his brother live after threatening his son and rest of the population of the planet, and he even tries to spare Frieza, a genocidal alien [[ForTheEvulz who destroys planets for fun]] and just killed his life long best friend. This particularly moral code developed after Goku trained under Kami. Before then, he was ''far'' less mercifully, ruthlessly killing or causing grave harm to anyone he saw as a threat to himself or his friends. Eventually he becomes more willing to kill evil opponents like Cell and Buu, but for a long period of time he insisted on giving everyone a second chance. At the same time one of the reasons he did not kill Piccolo Jr is because if he did Kami would also die along with the Dragon Balls. Frieza was also more of a case of CruelMercy, since he saw letting him live as a punishment. He also tried to kill Frieza without hesitation when he tried to attack him from the back, but Frieza was just so incredibly tough that he survived it.
30	*** This actually tends to be a case of CharacterExaggeration in the English dubs. While Goku will try to spare his opponents (especially Mooks), it's usually less out of moral righteousness and more because [[BloodKnight he]] wants [[WorthyOpponent a rematch]]. In fact, this tendency is presented as a character flaw in ''Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF''. [[spoiler: It got the Earth blown up.]] With that said, he has shown multiple times that he isn't particularly ''fond'' of killing unless absolutely necessary, in stark contrast with [[TheRival Vegeta.]]
31	*** AvertedTrope in the ''Dragon Ball Z'' [[NonSerialMovie films]] where Goku has a truly massive body count when it comes to the [[VillainKiller villains]] and [[MookHorrorShow their henchman]] having killed or assited in killing: [[Anime/DragonBallZTheWorldsStrongest Dr Wheelo]], [[Anime/DragonBallZTheTreeOfMight Turles]], [[Anime/DragonBallZLordSlug Lord Slug]], [[Anime/DragonBallZCoolersRevenge Cooler]], [[Anime/DragonBallZSuperAndroid13 Android 13]], [[Anime/DragonBallZBrolyTheLegendarySuperSaiyan Broly]] (twice), [[Anime/DragonBallZFusionReborn Janemba]] and [[Anime/DragonBallZWrathOfTheDragon Hirudegarn]].
32	** All of the Earth's fighters and Jaco adhered to this code in ''Resurrection 'F''. They all did their best not to kill any of Frieza's men, even people like Piccolo and Tien who had no problem killing their opponents in the past. This ended in vain, [[YouHaveFailedMe since Frieza kills all his soldiers for failing]].
33	** Android 16 unexpectedly developed a love of all living things, and refused to fight against anyone whenever the opportunity arose. He still planned on killing Goku, but only because that was hard-coded into his programming (and he ignores this directive when he finally does meet Goku, since by then he'd done a full HeelFaceTurn). 16 does eventually make one exception: because Cell is an OmnicidalManiac that refuses to coexist peacefully, 16 reasons that it is appropriate to kill him for the sake of everything else.
34	** Gohan a generally non-violent person believes in this, which became a problem when tasked with killing Perfect Cell in the Cell Games. While he is more than willingly to use force to protect, having previously punched Frieza mook Sūi into the ocean after he shot at Bulma and destroyed their spaceship, Gohan admantedly refused to kill Cell in their one-on-one despite the whole world being at risk. It ironically took the aforementioned Android 16 to convince Gohan that lethal force in this case was necessary to safeguard lives.
35	** Averted in ''Anime/DragonBallSuperBroly'', where the titular Legendary Super Saiyan [[UnstoppableRage has become enraged beyond all reason]] and Goku and Vegeta are forced to [[FusionDance fuse]] in order to stand a chance of winning. Throughout their fight, it becomes clear that Broly won't stop fighting no matter what, and Gogeta eventually [[TheGlovesComeOff decides to stop playing and goes for the kill]]. The ensuing CurbStompBattle scares Broly back into lucidity just as Gogeta prepares to finish him off; the only reason he survives is because Cheelai uses the Dragon Balls at that exact moment to wish for Shenron to send him back to Vampa.
36	** Enforced in the TournamentArc[=s=], as one of the rules for the World Martial Arts Tournament is that killing one's opponent is grounds for disqualification. Everyone -- even villains like Piccolo Jr. late in the original ''Dragon Ball'' anime -- abides by this rule. The one time a potential death in the ring is shown, when Videl appears to break her opponent's neck, she is moments away from disqualification when said opponent -- a mook working for and empowered by the wizard Babidi -- un-broke his neck. Even during the Tournament of Power, "No Killing" is one of the rules enforced by the Zen-Ohs, who were otherwise known to bend the rules in favor of RuleOfCool, and who punished the defeated with ''the utter erasure of their universe''. When an enraged Frost tries to defy this rule after [[PretenderDiss Freeza rings him out]], the Zen-Ohs nonchalantly erase him first.
37	* ''Manga/DungeonFriendsForever'': Ryuuka enforces a strict "no killing" rule on her minions. It is for this reason that her dungeon, Wyrm Hell, maintains a record of zero fatalities on both the human and monster sides while also being a very famous dungeon.
38	* In ''Anime/EurekaSeven'', both Renton and Eureka have to stop killing humans after Renton realizes what he has been doing to the KLF pilots, and when Eureka realizes the value of human life.
39	** In the TV sequel ''Anime/EurekaSevenAO'', Eureka did not attack the Scub Coral despite her antagonizing it, to honor her husband Renton's wish not to kill her own kin.
40	* Juvia of ''Manga/FairyTail'' admits to live by this philosophy when she fights Meredy, and she states that the other Fairy Tail members do the same. Ironically, Juvia was a former member of the rival guild Phantom Lord which members (at least most of them) didn't seem to hesitate killing their opponents. It's unknown if Juvia also had her no-killing moral code when she was a Phantom Lord member, of if she undertook it after her HeelFaceTurn. Interestingly, another Fairy Tail member, Gajeel, also pulled a HeelFaceTurn from being a Phantom Lord member, and when he was a villain he didn't shy away from trying to kill the heroine Lucy. He has still shown to be quite AxCrazy even after turning good, so it's definitely not sure that he refuses to kill his opponents even though he might not do it in cold blood.
41	* The titular character of the horror-comedy ''Manga/FrankenFran'' is absolutely married to this trope. She '''will''' prevent any patient that's under her character from dying by any way possible... ''[[FateWorseThanDeath and that's what makes her terrifying]]''.
42	* In ''Literature/FromTheNewWorld'', this is built into the DNA of all humans - if a human kills another human, they will immediately die themselves due to an autonomic reaction. Those who ''don't'' have this reaction are called Fiends, and are normally inherently psychotic. ''However'', [[spoiler: humans are now a TechnicalPacifist race; they use the Trickster Cats/Impure Cats to [[OffingTheOffspring kill their children who don't measure up to the needs of their society]].]] Furthermore, [[spoiler: WhatMeasureIsANonHuman is in play in that only people who the killer sees as human trigger the Death of Shame. The ramifications of this drive the majority of the plot points of the second half.]]
43	* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':
44	** Main character Edward Elric refuses to kill to achieve his goals, even Homunculi. Still doesn't make him any less badass by any stretch of the imagination. [[spoiler:Just look what he did to Pride. In fact, the closest he comes to killing anyone is when he punches through Father's chest after regaining his arm, and even then, he didn't actually die...instead, what happened to him was [[FateWorseThanDeath far worse]]]].
45	** When Winry tries to kill [[spoiler:Scar]] with a gun, she can't bring herself to pull the trigger, and cries, wondering why she couldn't do it after Scar [[VillainExitStageLeft leaves]]. Ed cites this trope, and tells her that her hands were made to give life, not kill, citing how she delivered a baby in Rush Valley, did his automail arm and leg, and saved two lives.
46	** In the final story arc [[spoiler:Mustang and crew also subscribe to this policy, at least in regard to human enemies. However, their allies, the Briggs soldiers, do not.]]
47	* In ''Anime/GingaDensetsuWeed'', Weed (the [[KidHero Pup Hero]]) strongly believes in releasing enemies after they had enough. Doesn't stop him from killing a wild boar that threatens his pack, though.
48	%% * Rushuna of ''Anime/{{Grenadier}}'' does more or less the same thing (with more jiggling).
49	* ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}''
50	** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWingEndlessWaltz'', the Gundam Pilots realize that the Mariemaia Army is being duped into this war and decide to just disable their Serpent Mobile Suits instead of destroying them and killing their pilots. They even {{lampshade}} this, noting how they could have ended this fight sooner by outright killing.
51	** In ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED'', Kira Yamato develops this attitude following his devastating fight with his best friend Athrun Zala. Thanks to the Freedom Gundam's highly advanced weaponry and his own exceptional marksmanship, it can disable Mobile Suits with ease.
52	*** Kira still fights this way in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny'', but this time it actually creates more problems because when he tries to break up battles by disabling everybody, because the people he hasn't hit yet are perfectly willing to kill the pilots whose mobile suits he ''has'' disabled. And when new protagonist Shinn Asuka takes him on after carefully studying Kira's fighting style, he exploits that unwillingness to kill (plus the fact that Shinn's highly modular Impulse Gundam can quickly replace destroyed parts mid-flight and thus is hard to disable) to push Kira to his limits and ultimately defeat him.
53	** Kio Asuno of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamAGE'' follows Kira's footsteps, just not as good.
54	* In ''Manga/GoblinSlayer'', the Priestess's miracle spells are meant to help people, not to kill them. For the most part, thanks to the Goblin Slayer's [[CombatPragmatist cold pragmatism]], the Priestess is able to skirt around this in [[NotTheIntendedUse how she casts some of her spells]], such as using a barrier spell to prevent goblins from escaping a fire, as that ''[[LoopholeAbuse technically]]'' doesn't count as using her spell to kill: it was the fire that killed the goblins. The line is drawn, however, at using the Purify spell to turn a goblin's blood into water, killing it instantly and painfully: after doing this once, the Priestess's goddess warns her that using Purify in such a manner again is grounds for her magical powers being permanently revoked.
55	* Despite him beating his enemies to a pulp, Issei the protagonist of ''Literature/HighSchoolDXD'' hasn't killed anybody at all. Not even {{Mooks}}.
56	* In ''Manga/IkkiTousen'', Sonsaku Hakufu refuses to kill her rivals, saying that [[BloodKnight she only wants]] [[BoisterousBruiser to fight them]], not take their lives.
57	* ''Manga/{{Inuyashiki}}'': Even though he's a {{Cyborg}} with enough high-tech alien weaponry to potentially level a city, Inuyashiki will never use them to take life, not even when operating in HeroicSafeMode. That doesn't mean, however, that he will let evil go unanswered, though: when rescuing a young couple being hunted by the yakuza, he used his BeamSpam attacks to target the gangsters' eyes and upper spinal columns, leaving them alive, but blind and paralyzed. [[spoiler:Even in his final battle with Shishigami, he leaves him alive, albeit heavily damaged.]]
58	* In ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'', [[TheHero Josuke Higashikata]] will not kill, period. This makes him stand out among [=JoJo=] protagonists, who are usually very willing to kill those who deserve it. Not even when dealing with [[spoiler:the vicious serial killer who murdered his grandfather]]. He is however perfectly willing to do [[AndIMustScream much]] [[FateWorseThanDeath worse]], and [[HarmfulHealing his Stand has powers]] [[LethalHarmlessPowers that are perfect for this]].
59	* This is the key point of contention between [[HeroesRUs Ryozanpaku]] and [[NebulousEvilOrganization Yami]] in ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple''. Yami's followers believe in upholding the "Satsu-jinken" (killing fist) philosophy, which they feel is the most original (and therefore most authentic) interpretation of all martial arts. On the other hand, Ryozanpaku's martial artists uphold the "Katsu-jinken" (merciful fist) philosophy, as they believe there is no longer any need for killing-based martial art techniques in the modern world.
60	* ''Franchise/LupinIII'' [[ZigzaggedTrope zig-zags this trope.]]
61	** In the early comics, Lupin didn't have a problem killing. Even the early Anime has it happening in cruel or horrifying ways. Most adaptations, however, are LighterAndSofter, so Lupin and gang distance themselves from their enemies with this view.
62	** This trope is especially noted towards Zenigata; both characters have mentioned that they have an understood "gentlemen's agreement" that neither will attempt to kill the other, and have saved each other's life (several times, in fact).
63	* Nanoha Takamachi of ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha''. Very skilled at using [[TheParalyzer Magical Damage]], which lets her create a lot of flashy explosions without ever killing anyone, even sentient non-humans. By contrast, the Wolkenritter have no personal qualms about using lethal force when needed, but they also followed this code when they were [[HeroAntagonist antagonists]] in the second season since they didn't want Hayate's name to be defiled with blood.
64	** One has to also understand that in a world where DefeatMeansFriendship is the 45th law of physics, exterminating one's enemies permanently can be downright wasteful.
65	** In fact, there is only ''one'' known case of a protagonist killing somebody during the events of the franchise, and it barely counts since [[spoiler:it's a SuicideByCop.]]
66	* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': The original manga plays with it. In one chapter, three [[{{Mook}} Iron Masks]] sneak in Kouji's home to try murdering him (it must be stated in the manga they were WAY more competent than in the anime, where Law of ConservationOfNinjutsu held true). Kouji hesitates about killing them even after finding out [[spoiler:they are corpses reanimated with a mechanical brain.]] When he finally gets forced to kill one of them in self-defense he suffers a HeroicBSOD (he remains kneeled, shaking and trembling), and later he is wondering if he is a murderer now. However another character reassures him it was self-defense, lampshading this trope as "the defense of a manga protagonist".
67	* Haru in ''Anime/TheMillionaireDetectiveBalanceUNLIMITED'' seems to take this approach to his police and detective work. He has killed before -- [[spoiler:an unexpected suspect pointed a gun at him and he panicked]] - but even that was an accident and he's shown to be deeply affected by it. At every opportunity, Haru chooses to spare (and sometimes even [[SavetheVillain save]]) any criminals he's chasing.
68	%%* Tenma's motto, often tried in ''Manga/{{Monster}}''.
69	* [[ActionGirl Balsa]] from ''Literature/MoribitoGuardianOfTheSpirit'' anime refuses to take a life, no matter the circumstances.
70	* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', Pro Heroes are officially sanctioned by the government, thus they have the same rules on lethal force as the police. As Heroes, they'll try to always SaveTheVillain, though if the need to prevent greater collateral damage and save civilian lives outweighs trying to bring down a villain non-lethally, then they will use lethal force.
71	* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'', bizarrely enough, has a ''villain'' (well, AntiVillain) with a Thou Shalt Not Kill code, though he was willing to break it if his opponent was dangerous enough.
72	* ''Manga/OnePiece'' plays with this trope; the main character, Luffy, will not kill anyone, but it's not out of niceness or altruism. [[CruelMercy He just believes that a better punishment would be to let them live, only to let them see their dreams and ambitions shattered and shot down in flames by Luffy and his allies]].
73	** Other members of the crew, namely Zoro and Robin, are willing to kill off their foes. They never actually ''do'' end up explictly killing anyone except [[WhatMeasureIsAMook some incredibly marginal characters]], but they're definitely not holding anything back. There's also occasions where Zoro and Sanji send their Devil Fruit-powered opponents flying/let them fall into the ocean, although the narrative labels it as "defeating them" rather than "murdering them".
74	** ''4Kids'' forces this on their ''Manga/OnePiece'' dub. One example was how Lucky Roo shoots a bandit in the head, but the dub has Shanks saying that "And when he wakes up, tell him it's a cap gun!"
75	** Averted in ''Anime/OnePieceFilmStrongWorld'', where the entire crew minus Nami rock up in BigBad Shiki's headquarters [[GunsAkimbo armed to the teeth]] (despite the likes of Luffy and Sanji usually [[BareFistedMonk never]] carrying weapons) and shoot everyone in sight until they run out of ammunition and do it the old fashioned way.
76	** Fishman pirate Fisher Tiger held this as a strict rule among his Pirates of the Sun. It wasn't out of altruism, however; instead he felt HumansAreBastards and didn't want his crew falling to that level. He also hoped to avert encouraging a CycleOfRevenge.
77	** Sanji in the Whole Cake Island arc refuses to let Capone Bege poison the wedding cake that will halt Big Mom's rampage even if it had the chance ([[SuperToughness unlikely as it was]]) of killing her. In this case, it was less to do with the morality of killing and more due to the fact as a SupremeChef Sanji considers sullying food, no matter who is eating it, a crime against nature.
78	** '''Averted hard''' with Nami in the anime, who famously kills Devil Fruit user Eric the Whirlwind (admittedly a {{Filler}} villain) in cold blood by kicking him into ocean while traversing up reverse mountain. The boys even praise Nami for her ruthlessness.
79	* Akane Tsunemori in ''Anime/PsychoPass'' refuses to kill criminals, unlike [[AntiHero the rest of her team]]. This is made especially clear in the second season premiere, when the MadBomber they are chasing has a Crime Coefficient of 302, which just barely puts him in the 300+ threshold of being [[LudicrousGibs vaporized]] by the Dominator's Eliminator Mode, but she opts not to shoot him and uses her negotiation skills to talk him down to 299 and bring him in nonlethally. Something similar happened in the first season premiere, but the big difference is in that case it was a victim she was talking to, not the instigator of the crime. However, she has limits to her compassion: when that same bomber committed another crime and this time killed over a dozen people with a bomb, she outright told him any sympathetic words she'd told him were now meaningless and she was ready to give the order to execute him had Inspector Aoyanagi not shot him first.
80	** She also refused to kill the respective BigBad of each season, but in those cases, she also had practical reasons to do so besides her own morals: [[spoiler: in Makishima's case, she had a chance to kill him at Nona Tower, but was under very clear orders from Sibyl to bring him in alive, and her sense of justice prevailed. Later, she cut a deal with Sibyl to bring Makishima in alive in exchange for Sibyl agreeing to let Kougami go free, which failed when Kougami killed him. In the second season, she becomes suspicious of the fact that the Sibyl System really, ''really'' [[RevealingCoverup wants Kamui dead at all costs]] without an explanation, and prioritizes bringing him in alive to find out why he's such a threat to the System. Even when Sibyl frames Kamui for the murder of her grandmother, she's perceptive enough to realize he couldn't have killed her and won't take the bait.]]
81	* In regards to humans and fellow {{Magical Girl}}s, Homura Akemi from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' generally follows this way of thinking, with two very specific exceptions: [[spoiler:imminent "witch out" (Sayaka in episode 8 and Madoka in episode 10) or directly threatening Madoka's life (Oriko)]]. Ironic given [[SuperheroPackingHeat her choice of weaponry]].
82	* In ''Manga/RaveMaster'', [[TheHero Haru]] and his [[TrueCompanions allies]] hold to this as a central philosophy. While they don't shy away from doing it when it's necessary, they will generally do all in their power to resolve their battles without killing.
83	* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' has a similar plot, where the main character (a former assassin) has sworn to never kill again, and uses a specially designed sword that faces the wrong way, so opponents won't get cut by it, normally (he keeps an edge so as to be able to cut inanimate objects by flipping the blade). Get him to unleash his SuperpoweredEvilSide, and you may have a problem.
84	* In ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}} Gaiden'' the heavens have to abide by this rule and do so to varying degrees. Konzen is vegetarian, however Kenren thinks it's fine to eat fish but has to fight in the army with a stun gun... yet Tenpou has a katana but presumably still obeys the rule. Of course [[spoiler: all of that goes out the window in the end]]. Averted entirely in the main series; the main characters kill many, many, ''many'' youkai on their divinely-ordered trip to India.
85	* Exa of ''Manga/{{Superior}}'' adheres to a strict no kill rule and holds all his party members to the same standard. He even wields a MorphWeapon that he keeps in the form of a dulled blade to avoid lethal blows. Ironically, his goal is to kill the demon queen.
86	* In ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' the Heroes employed by Hero TV refrain from killing criminals. However, the public seems to have gotten tired of this "soft" method of dealing with criminals. When a VigilanteMan NEXT calling himself Lunatic starts killing criminals, the public ''loves'' him.
87	* Manga/{{Toriko}} is perfectly willing to kill.... but only if he plans to eat the victim afterwards. Otherwise he attacks to incapacitate. The only time he ever set the rule aside was when he decided killing complete bastard Tommyrod was the only proper option.
88	* Vash's quest to live without killing is essentially the main subject of ''Manga/{{Trigun}}''. Not only does he strive to live without killing, he also attempts to spread this philosophy to others, including villains, even at the cost of his own health and safety. Other times, he begs characters who have a just cause for vengeance to forgo it and let things lie. However, he IS forced to take [[spoiler:Legato's]] life at one point to save others, and he was deeply horrified after he did that. This does not cause him to renounce his goal to save as many people as possible however. That said, with how heavily the series points out how this has ''cost'' Vash, physically and emotionally, and the numerous dismissive or critical actions of other characters, and the question the series raises itself that Vash and Knives may essentially be following childish philosophies without any mental maturity, it's not too hard to argue that the series is a deconstruction of this trope.
89	** [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] with Wolfwood.
90	--->'''Vash''': "Thou shalt not kill, remember? What kind of churchman are you?"
91	%%* [[spoiler:Abel]] from ''Literature/TrinityBlood''.
92	* ''Manga/YamiNoAegis'':
93	--> '''Tate''': I will not kill, nor will I assist in anything leading to killing.
94	* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'' plays with this trope when Yusuke fights Doctor Kamiya, a follower of Shinobu Sensui. Kamiya brings up that Yusuke has never killed humans before, only demons, and thus believes that Yusuke is going to hesitate before trying to kill him. [[spoiler:He doesn't, and is only stopped when Kamiya takes a passing nurse as a hostage. Turns out the "nurse" is really Yana in disguise, and Murota informing Yusuke that the Doc was lying about a cure and really planned to finish him off, prompts Yusuke to cross the line. Killing Kamiya breaks his psychic territory and saves everyone in the hospital, and Yusuke's conscience is eased when Genkai quickly revives Kamiya with a chest compression.]]
95

Context ThouShaltNotKill / AnimeAndManga