DatenshiEsyel's Top 10 Saddest Deaths In Anime, Manga, and/or Video Games
Greetings everyone and welcome back!
I purposely delayed on making another post so I could create one in honor of today. The Day of the Dead, or Dia De Los Muertos, is an observed day where the life of the deceased are remembered and celebrated.
To help out with this, I've comprised a Top 10 List.
First off, no, I haven't given up on my analyzing/compare and contrast blog posts. The truth of the matter, however, is I originally created this site to make these lists. I just simply didn't know how to begin with them and ended up coming with a new idea first.
Now that I have a theme in mind for my first list, though, I'm going to include it in this blog.
Secondly - and here's the major disclaimer I feel should be included here - there is a reason I'm only putting ten names. No, not only because it's easier, though this is partly true. The real answer, however, is I'm including names of people whom remain deceased and - mostly importantly - from various fandoms I know of. In an effort to keep it somewhat short but fair simultaneously, I am restricting the sources of fandoms to anime, manga, and video games.
So trust me when I say I do know there are gonna be a lot of names that won't be listed here. And I promise, they weren't all intentionally forgotten. Some I may have known about, but didn't feel they had enough of an impact. But there's a lot of names/people that I just won't have known about.
Ready to read along (and maybe cry with me)?
Well, here we go!
Read with caution, as some of these will very likely have spoilers of some sort included within the descriptions/explanations.
Honorable Mention: Aeris Gainsborough From Final Fantasy VII
I can practically hear the hate I'll get from this. But the fact is ... I didn't play Final Fantasy VII. I've seen my husband play parts of it. However, despite my ignorance and lack of feelings regarding this death, I know that for thousands - maybe more - of gamers, this was a huge deal. According to my spouse and tons of other sources that I've heard talk about Aeris's demise, it was one of the first major characters in any Final Fantasy franchise that died.
Maybe even the first. I temporarily forget.
So if only because of that, I'll add it here and acknowledge that yes, I do know of her tragic death. Unfortunately, compared to the rest of the list, I didn't really have a personal connection to her or the game.
#10: L From Death Note
I almost immediately fell in love with L's character after he was introduced in Death Note. To this date, he has been by far one of the smartest detective/law enforcement figures I've seen created. For a while, I was convinced that he could keep up his battle of wits against Light and use that to help him stay alive. Hell, I was even praying that he could catch Light before having to face death. After a while, though, it became blatantly clear that wasn't going to happen.
As frustrating as L's death was, however, it wasn't too surprising, which is a good reason why he's at #10.
#9: Angelo Lagusa From 91 Days
Much like L, this wasn't a huge shock. The moment I read what the summary of this anime was, it already hinted there would be a good chance he would die. 91 Days is a mafia-based anime set in the 1930s. Knowing just that much, you can rather easily assume why I wasn't surprised that Angelo did end up dying.
He is a much better developed version of Sasuke Uchiha, and goes about getting his revenge in a far smarter manner. He only goes after people who deserve it.
I'm not even gonna go on a rant about why I hate Sasuke ... though I may save a blog post for that later on in the future. Unfortunately, Angelo is very similar and simultaneously different to Sasuke, and that's the only true reason I bring him up at all.
Aside from expecting the possibility of Angelo's death, he's placed at such a low level because the ending was honestly very Cowboy Bebop-esque. In reality, there is a slim chance he could have lived and survived. The realistic side of me is, unfortunately, not counting on that. As such, he's put on this list as I'm going off the assumption that - canonically - he is deceased rather than missing but alive.
#8: Auron From Final Fantasy X
Yes, I played Final Fantasy X but not VII. Why? Because I was sheltered as all hell. By the time I met my spouse [lover back when I played X, since we weren't officially wed], X had either just come out or already been out for a while. I can't immediately recall.
Point is the first Final Fantasy game I did end up playing was X.
I'll admit that because I was sheltered prior to moving out of my house and with my significant other, I very likely missed any cues or signs the game gave hinting his official sending away was coming. But I really didn't think - nor would have ever assumed - he was already technically deceased from the get-go. He''s so ... capable. Strong. It feels hard to believe.
His death scene was one of those where I was too shocked to cry or properly react. All the same, he was a damn good warrior, and easily one of the best characters in the game. For that [and any other reasons I may have forgotten], Auron has earned his place on my list.
#7: Chloe Price From Life Is Strange
I will still never understand to this day why of all the people that could have been chosen in Life Is Strange, it had to be only Chloe who was marked for dead/death. That's absolute bullshit. It really was. She died so many times in this game, and every single time I had to watch, I cried my eyes out with Max.
However, between the two choices the game offers at the end, my canon version is where you have to sacrifice her to save Arcadia Bay.
I hated making that choice. It was the worst one.
At the same time, her words were true. Joyce [her mom] truly did deserve a better fate than to perish in a bullshit storm that literally came from basically nowhere. I would add more names but there weren't many other characters I liked much. Despite that, I wouldn't have thought any of them deserved to die in a vortex which - as someone who lives in Oregon - also would like to hit my bullshit button on.
Yes, I realize what a vortex is. And I do understand that there are some cities along the coast of Oregon. In fact, I'm relatively sure Arcadia Bay was created - or at least inspired - from a combination of Coos Bay and Florence [a bit more the latter].
What bothers me, though, is .... fine. You want to create a city with minimal cops and whatnot? Alright, go for it.
But there were no real warnings about this storm. Not before it hit, anyway, and that's what honestly pissed me off. There should have been enough people to notice the dark sky and bring it up to a meteorologist/news station or something.
Both the emergence of the vortex and Chloe's death just felt like they were too forced for plot devices, and I abhor them both for that reason. There were better ways to incorporate these two factors into the game that would have held more fairness and justification. Sure, I wouldn't have liked it. But I would have been able to accept them much easier if things had been done in a more logical manner.
#6: Koro-Sensei From Assassination Classroom
Like almost everyone else I've listed so far, this is another demise that wasn't something you didn't see coming. In the first chapters, it emphasizes how important it is for the class of 3-E to succeed in killing Koro-sensei, lest the entire world suffers the consequences.
So what separates Koro-Sensei from the others?
The impact his death had. It wasn't just the students that cried. Even Karasuma-sensei and Jelavić-sensei mourn with the class of 3E.
This isn't to say no one else above wasn't missed or anything. However, the mourning process for most of those individuals wasn't nearly as open as we see with Koro-Sensei.
#5: Lucy/Nyu From Elfen Lied
Quick disclaimer; yes, I know she's only one actual person. But this was the best image I could find. And although physically, she was one, psychologically she kinda was two. This image best represents that, or so I feel that's the case.
Honestly, the entire manga [probably anime too, I didn't watch so not sure] was freaking violent. Gore-heavy, even.
I can safely say I did not expect that when first starting to read the manga. Even though Lucy took tons of lives throughout the series, I don't really believe her Karma should have been outright murder. She was voluntarily trying to change, and do so in a positive way. She even vowed to Kouta she wouldn't be aggressive or fight against her assailants.
It's that fact which made her death a bit more sadder than the others I've listed. She easily could have saved herself. And in some regards, I kinda wish she would have. She could have at least kept herself alive but not killed any of those government bastards.
But no, she didn't even do that. She just ... accepted her demise. Like most of the other people you see die in Elfen Lied, it was done in an incredibly brutal manner, which made it more saddening.
#4: Ace D. Portgas & Edward Newgate [Whitebeard] From One Piece
This may seem like cheating by including them both. But it seems fitting. They were both killed within minutes of one another and, on a very technical note, died essentially for the other. Ace was infuriated with the insults Akainu dictated about Whitebeard. Unable to control his rage, Ace turns and tries to battle with the Vice Admiral, only to have his efforts fail. Due to him fighting instead of fleeing, however, he sees the attack against Luffy and sacrifices himself to prevent his brother from dying.
Not long after this, Whitebeard gives Akainu some personal punches for killing his adopted son, only to eventually be murdered by Blackbeard and his crew.
The fact so many people attended their funeral speaks volumes to me. Add in the fact they were both buried on an island only a few people knew the location of to prevent anyone from desecrating their graves also says quite a bit.
Like Koro-Sensei, these two made quite the impact themselves. Moments after Whitebeard perished, Shanks declared the fray that had been going on would come to an immediate halt. Would Shanks have made such a declaration for anyone else, or after any other character died?
If so, I don't envision it being done very easily.
#3: Neji Hyuuga From Naruto
There were a ton of deaths throughout Naruto. Most were unnecessary, unjustified, or in the worst case scenarios, both. But the one canon who did and remained dead that made the strongest impact for me was Neji Hyuuga. Had Pein not decided to revive everyone, Kakashi would definitely have been here instead.
For me - and many others I know - Neji was one of those unfair and unjustified deaths. Why him? Why not Hiashi? That would have been an amazing chance for Hiashi to redeem himself and make up for his incredibly stern attitude. It also would have made more sense for a father to sacrifice himself for his child. And really, it wasn't like they had given Hiashi an overly vital role as a character.
Alternatively, it was established there were tons of other members of the Hyuuga clan on the battlefield. Where the hell were they? Why couldn't it have been one of them?
And for the record, it is not purely Sakura's fault. She was not the only medic around, so no. I'm not pinning Neji's death on her. The blame can only go to one person, and that's Kishimoto for making the decision. He may or may not have written it out, but given he was the creator of Naruto, it's safe to assume he had a good portion of the end verdict.
#2: Maes Hughes From FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
I know Maes wasn't only in Brotherhood, but I haven't read or watched the original. In fact, I haven't heard many good things about it.
Mini-rant aside, I honestly feel like Maes was killed off too quickly. He dies in episode 10! Ten! And there are 60+ episodes!
Despite the short amount of time he was shown around, he became a very likable character. Even with knowing he was going to die [I accidentally saw his funeral scene years ago on TV], I still mourned with all of the other Central soldiers plus his wife and daughter. If I had to be a bit more honest, it was seeing the reaction from his child that decided he would be placed here instead of sooner on this list.
#1: Lee Everett From The Walking Dead [Season 1 of the Tell-Tale Games]
As someone who has played all of Tell-Tale's The Walking Dead games, Lee is - without a doubt - one person I often find myself missing and wishing would be back in the game. Alas, that has become an impossible feat.
At the end of the first episode, Lee keeps his promise and helps find Clementine's parents .... except ... they're already turned into zombies. Having been earlier bitten and thus leading to his hand getting cut off, he passes out. This results in Clem dragging him to safety to prevent him from being eaten alive.
Though the two manage to hide and lock themselves away in an abandoned building, it ends up not mattering [much like many of the choices you try to make in the game]. You're (as a 9 year old Clementine) forced to cuff Lee so he can't chase and turn you into a zombie once he becomes one.
Although the game does give you the option to not shoot him, most opted to do so. And probably for a similar reason I selected this decision also. In a zombie-apocalypse world, it really is better to be safe than sorry. I definitely did not like making this choice. But it truly is one way to ensure Clementine survives.
Annnnd there you have it!
Do you agree with these names? Disagree?
Feel free to leave your opinions and comments below. Just no trolling or unnecessary rude remarks, please!
Until next time,
DatneshiEsyel
