Much death, such sadness (Massive Spoiler Alert!)

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Lady B

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This thread contains massive spoilers, t(h)read carefully (ha!)

Sometimes, the creators of our favourite shows/books/games/stories decide to be reeeal dickheads, and suddenly off one of, or several of our favourite characters. On occasion, character death can actually be very helpful plot devices that move the story onwards, but most of the time, it seems like nothing but an aggressive method to attack us consumer's emotions.

One character death that I think actually aided the story was the death of
Tomoe Mami in Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. At first, I was just in shock, and I really didn't like it because I loved her as a character, but i the end, her death made me like the series even more.

On the other hand, I think pretty much all deaths in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows were unnecessary. Like, Hedwig being offed within the first few pages for no reason. Remus, Tonks, and Fred being killed in the Battle of Hogwarts, towards the very end of the book. It didn't give the story any more depth, it just made me dislike it more.

So, what are some memorable character deaths you can think of, and, what do you think of them?
 
I'll keep it to just my favorite example of a good character death.

This anime, full title Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, has a perfect example of a meaningful character death. The main character, Simon, starts off as basically a whiny little baby, though he's rather smart and can be very determined when he gets motivated. His best friend (and older brother figure) Kamina is everything a badass protagonist should be: he's charismatic, he's brave, he's inspirational, he's funny, and he has weaknesses and points of personal pain and struggle that people can relate to. Kamina kind of runs the show for the first 8 episodes, convincing and inspiring little Simon to step out of his shell and be awesome. Then Kamina takes a major injury in a battle and everyone thinks he's dead, the fight is falling apart, Simon is freaking out... then Kamina speaks up over the radio boosts him up again, using his last moments to comfort his little bro and work together to take out the enemy, and his last words directly to Simon are basically "always believe in yourself." And then he dies.

This causes Simon to go into a horrible depression, blaming himself for Kamina's death and not believing in himself at all. He goes from fighting smart to just mindlessly throwing himself at enemies in a sort of berserker rage, until it gets to the point where he can't even manage that anymore. As more bad things happen and fighting continues, he has a moment where it sort of clicks, where he's the only one who can save the day now that Kamina is gone. Kamina becomes a metric for what being a hero and great person is all about, for Simon and all the other characters who knew him. This is paired with some intense irony, because there are some flashbacks that show that Kamina was actually super terrified of dangerous situations and just talked a big game because he knew Simon was there to back him up with tenacity and ingenuity, so they were kind of mutually acting as the awesome hero figure to each other. Through the rest of the show you can very easily trace how influential Kamina's words and wisdom were on Simon, how that guidance gave him everything he needed to go out on his own and be a great person to surpass Kamina himself. There are a ton of callbacks to Kamina by way of Simon's wardrobe and things people say, plus an awesome series of events where Simon becomes the older brother awesome mentor guy to another character in the latter half of the show, which included him using some of the very same tactics and words to get that other character to realize what he's doing wrong with his life and prevent a suicide attempt.

The main character would never have become what he was without Kamina's influence and then death. It was not meaningless gore, it was an integral plot point. This has been my #1 example of a great character death for many years now.
 
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Harry Potter related:
She wanted to kill of Harry but her publisher wouldn't allow it.

Guild Wars 2 the Battle of Claw Island:
We all really liked Tybalt, he was goofy for a charr and a bit laid back, but he did what he had to. I was quite partial to Magister Sieran though, but that's just me. Then again, all three of the Order's 'mentors' were kind of laid-back and easy going now that I think about it...

Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind :
When you must kill Dagoth Ur. Yes, he was insane. Yes, he was spreading a terrifying blight across the land and trying to resurrect a GOD to break the dream of the sleeping one. But he still saw you as what you were; his old friend returned to life. Even offered you friendship and sanctuary from the times to come. A shame you had no choice but to beat him. He even sounds a bit sad when you decline him, but accepts it that you are your own person and says we all must do what we're fated to do.

Risk of Rain :
Not a whole lot of dialogue in this game except for the monster logs and what the end boss Providence says. Say what you will about the things trying to murder you and Providence asking what you are and calling you a monster. Even some of the end quotes seem morose and sobering. Sure you survived getting off the wretched planet, but at what cost? You slew likely hundreds of thousands of once peaceful inhabitants and their protector.

Not to mention you stole ancient teleportation tech from them. Likely by force.

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen :
Even in the base game the main antagonist, Grigori, is set up to be memorable. Even taking his deal earns you an achievement and your own kingdom at the cost of your own heart. So basic immortality as well.

Then there is Daimon, the last-last boss of the game, or at least hardest. Fell in love with his pawn, when given the choice by the dragon same as you, he turned his back on him and ended up cursed. Driven to insanity by despair he knows what he did and knows what you came to do and that you will have to make the same choices as he did.

The entire part with the Seneschal. You must kill a God to take his place and break the eternal cycle that the world is caught in. And then.. You can sit upon your throne and watch. The world moves on without you, because you are a world apart. But then even you can break your part of the cycle by plunging the Godsbane into your chest and giving your pawn true life.

That game got kinda deep to me, but I loved it.

Bioshock: Infinite :
When Book-- HAH. Who am I kidding. I didn't give a shit about Booker. He gets killed by Elizabeth at the end of the game and that's supposed to MATTER when he's died countless times before, only to be replaced by a Booker from another timeline by the Lutece twins?

Then they bring him back for Burial at Sea. It was bad and completely unmemorable.

Dead Space:
When you truly find out your girlfriend is dead. :c
Then she appears when he takes off his helmet as he escapes.
 
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I mean lots of sad things happen in this VN, but the one I think hits everyone first is this:

The Marimo chomp.
 
Mass Effect 3

When Harbinger laser's you and everyone else but you and Anderson somehow manage to survive. That's completely ridiculous!! I gave the crew better armor than I did myself and I survive!?

Gears Of War 3

When they killed Dominique off for no good reason. I was on the verge of rage quitting before I found out who was voicing Dom's stand-in XD

Halo 4

When 343 killed Cortana to send a message to gamers saying"We're in control of Halo now." which was completely unnecessary. They could've just made the player kill her instead which would've made it more worthwhile than that.

Naruto Shippuden

When Neji died which was decent...until I found out the truth!!! Masashi had over 600 chapters of Naruto and he suddenly decides to kill Neji off in order to create a spark between Naruto and Hinata? See, when Naruto ended and all those Naruto X Sakura fans were going nuts because Naruto ended up with Hinata, I was right next to them...just not for the same reason though.
 
Ending number four. Adam Jenson dies. No stories are spun. No continuity. It all ends there. I love that game, such a rich world with so much lore to find and expansive story with tons of little things which immerse you deeper into that futuristic world as the Security Chief for Sarif Inudustries.

When you come to find it's all an illusion to hide away from the harsh and terrible truth of the battles and bodies which lay strewn in your wake.

When Arthus betrays his kingdom. Enough said.

Jamming that soul-stone in your noggin to wrestle with the Prince of Darkness in a futile struggle for the rest of your days? Well shit.

Zombie Nazi Princess Kenny

Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty

Ulysses may have been a madman, but he saw the world for what it truly was.
 
Am I the only one who thinks that the deaths in every story/game that they've played and read has been an important part of the story? I can't say I've been happy about them, but I honestly couldn't see the main character moving forward or developing at all if there wasn't that particular death.
 
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I could make a huge list since almost all my favorite characters die but that might make me a bit too sad. So instead I will talk about the killing of characters. At least for me, when I write it is the character telling me their story. I had wanted to kill off one of my main characters because it would be emotional (and for other more complicated reasons) but I could not do it because that is not a good enough reason and he had other plans for how his story would go. Another character on the other hand I will kill off because it will be time and his death helps another of the characters come to a realization. Ignoring what I posted in the first sentence. I went and looked up some books and found some deaths that I hated because I loved the characters.

Number 8. I can't say he was my favorite character but he came close. I wanted to go on a murderous rampage when I read his death. Now I am in limbo to see if my favorite character, Number 9, dies in the next book. I really hope not because he is a bad ass and just can't die. Those are probably not good enough reasons but oh well. xD

The book about the cats..just to clarify. There have been many deaths in this series but I can't find any reason for why they would have killed off Longtail. He was not even that old and I did not find him useless. He had become such a friendly member of the clan and I admit I was shipping him and Mousefur but then the Erins had to ruin it.

Charlie Higson killed off DogNut. Why did you do it Higson? He was a main character for that book and BAM! No more DogNut. He was one of the only characters that kept things lighthearted and gave relief from all the tragic events. This is another of those deaths I just can't understand.

Oy, Jake, Eddie..EVERYONE! Yup. At first I did not understand why everyone had to die (except for Roland of course). It just seemed like insanity but that is the way Mr. King works. After awhile and reading an explanation I understand why it ended the way it did and I quite enjoy it now. Ka is a wheel that keeps on turning.
 
Icystorm said:
Oy, Jake, Eddie..EVERYONE! Yup. At first I did not understand why everyone had to die (except for Roland of course). It just seemed like insanity but that is the way Mr. King works. After awhile and reading an explanation I understand why it ended the way it did and I quite enjoy it now. Ka is a wheel that keeps on turning.
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I understood those!

Roland's quest was the same every single time, but each time he didn't learn a damn thing from it. He put the quest for the tower before everyone, and everything, not really caring whether they were willing to make the sacrifice on their own, because he was willing to sacrifice them.He played everything close to the chest, and never gave them the chance to prove that they would go along with him if he would have stopped being selfish and foolish.

That was my take on it at least.
 
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Nydanna said:
I understood those!

Roland's quest was the same every single time, but each time he didn't learn a damn thing from it. He put the quest for the tower before everyone, and everything, not really caring whether they were willing to make the sacrifice on their own, because he was willing to sacrifice them.He played everything close to the chest, and never gave them the chance to prove that they would go along with him if he would have stopped being selfish and foolish.

That was my take on it at least.
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That is basically it. I bought a book called The Dark Tower Companion by Bev Vincent. He did an interview with Stephen King. To quote what Mr. King said about the ending. "A lot of people didn't like the way the thing ended, but after all the things that I'd written about how ka is a wheel and it always comes back to where it started, I don't see how anybody could have expected anything different, really. The same idea exists in Ghosts Brothers of Darkland County, that until you get things right, you have to do them over and over and over again." And then when questioned if he knew what changes Roland needs to make to redeem himself King said he knew exactly and that you only had to go back to the first book and you would know the answer. I think Jake is the key.
 
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Icystorm said:
That is basically it. I bought a book called The Dark Tower Companion by Bev Vincent. He did an interview with Stephen King. To quote what Mr. King said about the ending. "A lot of people didn't like the way the thing ended, but after all the things that I'd written about how ka is a wheel and it always comes back to where it started, I don't see how anybody could have expected anything different, really. The same idea exists in Ghosts Brothers of Darkland County, that until you get things right, you have to do them over and over and over again." And then when questioned if he knew what changes Roland needs to make to redeem himself King said he knew exactly and that you only had to go back to the first book and you would know the answer. I think Jake is the key.
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That I definitely agree with!
 
Crying will start in 3... 2... 1...

"I am a leaf on the wind... Watch how I soar."
 
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