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{{trope|wppage=Tetraphobia}}
[[File:
In
▲In [[Chinese Language]], [[Japanese Language]], and Korean, the words for "four" and "death", despite being written differently, are pronounced similarly (somewhat like "''sì''" in Mandarin, "''sei''" in [[Chinese Dialects and Accents|Cantonese]], "''shi''" in Japanese, and "''sa''" in Korean). As a cultural trope, Asian works of media tend to treat the number the same way Western writers treat the number 13 (except 13 isn't half a letter away from "death", although numerologically speaking, what is 1+3?... [[Fridge Horror|Oh my God!]]).
As a similar point of reference, building floors and apartments are (mis)numbered accordingly to avoid the number (the US does the same with the number 13. Floors will go straight from 12 to 14, while the UK skips Rm13), and some Japanese people prefer to say "''yon''" (another word for four) instead of "''shi''".
Villainous groups of four are often given the name of ''Shitennō
On an unrelated note, Christianity also has several examples of
Probably unrelated is the fact that 4 is the most common numeral at which [[Numbered Sequels]] peter out and are replaced with some subtitle instead. The [[Rule of Three]] may also be implicated.
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{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* For the Hunter exam (in ''[[Hunter X Hunter]]'') Hisoka was number 44
* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' manages a set of four [[Quirky Miniboss Squad|lesser villains]] per story arc (the Amazon Trio are red herrings for the proper Amazones Quartet). The first set was explictly called the "Shitennou" (roughly, "four heavenly kings").
* In ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]'', the fourth Evangelion unit (really the fifth unit if you count the prototype 00, but being called the 04 was all it took) disappeared into a Dirac sea during a startup experiment, taking a large chunk of the Mojave Desert with it. Also, Unit
** Unit-04 was always referred to as ''yon''-gouki in dialogue. Even ''Rebuild'' does this.
** This may yet be played totally straight in [[Rebuild of Evangelion]], as it appears that the series will now be 4 full-length features, rather than 2 fulls, and 2 half-length shorts to make a third, and we all know [[End of Evangelion|how the original series ended, after all...]]
* In ''[[Naruto]]'', megavillain [[Orochi
** Later, Naruto's [[Super-Powered Evil Side]] becomes dominant and goes into "kill everyone" mode when he grows four fox tails.
** The Fourth Hokage spent the shortest time in office, a tenure that ended with him saving the village with a "Seal Evil" technique that required him to sacrifice his own life and seal his soul in the Death God's stomach, in eternal combat with the sealed Evil. Yeah, number four had it rough.
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* The Kibao Hoarde of the ''[[SD Gundam Force]]'' anime. Four elite Musha Gundams who protect Kibaomaru's castle. There's Bakuhamaru the Undefeated, Mokinmaru the Sword of Raven, Kijumaru the Battle Beast, and Haganemaru, the Iron Sphere.
* One episode of ''[[Chobits]]'' deals with an apparently haunted Room 104.
* ''[[
* In ''[[Bleach]]'' Ulquiorra Cifer is the most powerful Espada Ichigo fights, leading Ichigo to initially assume he's number one. Not quite.
** He's also the only Espada with a second [[Super Mode|release state]]. Moreover, even the first release state of certain Espada is too powerful to be used under the dome of Las Noches, since it might tear the whole fortress down. Guess which Espada is the weakest to fall under that prohibition.
** Also, Ulquiorra's general deathly appearance: pale skin, black hair, permanently cold-looking eyes with lines underneath running down his cheeks like tear marks... you get the picture.
** The 11th Division's fourth seat is empty for both the superstition and because Yumichika thinks the kanji for "Four" is ugly.
* Moroboshi Ataru of ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]'' was marked out as a [[Cosmic Plaything]] by being born on the second most ill-omened day in the Japanese calendar, the thirteenth of April: ''4''-13. (This was also on ''Butsumetsu'', the anniversary of the Buddha's death; the only unluckier day is April
* In episode 4 of ''[[FLCL]]'', Naota gets beaned by Haruko during the 4th inning of the baseball game at the beginning of the episode. The umpire even shouts "dead ball!"
* ''[[Gundam]]'''s sequels and [[Spiritual Successor
** Being the protagonist's [[Temporary Love Interest]], Four Murasame in ''[[Zeta Gundam]]'' was so predestined to die. And she did. Twice. And again in the [[Compilation Movie
** ''[[G Gundam]]'' uses this trope in a similar way as ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', with the Dark/Devil Gundam having four principal minions known as the Four Heavenly Kings, more than likely supposed to represent the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, what with Gundams named ''God'' and ''Devil'' in the series.
** Also worth mention is the fact that both ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'' and ''[[Gundam Seed]]'' skip the obvious fours in their Gundam lineups (there is no GN-004 or GAT-X104). We then later find out what became of 004: it's {{spoiler|hidden underneath GN-005, [[Bishonen|Tieria's]] Gundam Virtue. It's a girly looking [[Fragile Speedster]] down to the flowing red "hair" coming out of its head and is called Gundam Nadleeh, which is incidentally the word for [[Transsexualism|people of the third, fourth, and fifth genders]] in Navajo culture}}, which only deepens the mystery of {{spoiler|whether Tieria's a [[Gender Bender]].}}
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* In ''[[GetBackers]]'', Ginji led a gang called VOLTS, and his direct subordinates were known as the Shitennou. They inspire equal amounts of terror and admiration among the population of Lower Town, and in the series proper are re-introduced to him and Ban as antagonists. According to one of them, Shido, the title "Shitennou" is for someone who has cheated death countless times.
** Another one, Makubex, attempts to duplicate their success with his "New Four Kings." After his [[Heel Face Turn]], [[Psycho for Hire|one]] dies and the other just vanishes, leaving him with [[The Comically Serious]] and [[The Idiot From Osaka]], plus his [[Team Mom]].
** Ironically, Kazuki, the least hostile of the four, has his own set of four subordinates who mirror the situation between Ginji and the
** Shido's Maryuudo tribe also boasts the four Shiki clans, which correspond to the four seasons. Their mortal enemies, the Kiryuudo, greatly fear the reunion of the four leaders, because it literally ''does'' mean death for them. Shido has the power to awaken hidden abilities to their fullest potential, and the other three have the powers of putting everything to sleep, healing, and instantly killing everything. They massacre the entire population of Kiryuudo pretty much in the blink of an eye.
* In the ''[[Rosario + Vampire]]'' anime, Tsukune arrives at the bus stop at 4:44 pm and is attacked by rivals for Moka's love. Later on, 4:44 pm is the scheduled time for {{spoiler|his execution for being human.}}
** Kuyou, the leader of the Student Police, is a {{spoiler|youko with four tails}}.
* In ''[[Digimon Adventure]]'', the four Dark Masters are the bad guys of the final arc.
* ''[[Violinist of Hameln]]'' has the four Mazoku Generals as acting [[Big Bad
* In ''[[Soul Eater]]'', weapon meisters use a form of spiritual telephone to keep in
** The 'shini' part gets used for [[Shinigami|Kid]] in the increase in the size of his soul - one scanlation translated Liz's comment as "42 soul-widths") and the Sanzu Line-enabled form for the Thompsons - Death Eagle .42.
** This is also the other reason that [[Bland-Name Product|Death Robbins]] ice cream has 42 flavors instead of 31. Ohkubo seems to really love this trope.
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* Albert Heinrich, aka [[Cyborg 009|Cyborg 004]], is the most heavily reconstructed and had most of his body replaced with various weapons. The original manga even saddled him with the nickname "[[Shinigami|God of Death]]", and his original personality was that of a rather frightening vengeance-seeker that enjoyed battling Black Ghost. However, his character evolved over the years, and in the 2001 version, he's more of a [[Germanic Depressives|withdrawn]], [[Big Brother Mentor]] who's very disturbed by his enhancements.
* Akane-san from the broadcasting room from ''[[Ghost Stories|Gakkou no Kaidan]]'' will kill without fail any and all people who hear her voice. She counts aloud the exact time of the sunset before she finally kills her victim, carefully avoiding the number 4. Her spirit can be repelled if one interrupts her count and say the number 4 out loud. To seal her, {{spoiler|she has to hear the chime that indicates the end of a broadcast before sunset}}. Guess how many bell rings does that make.
* In ''[[Black Butler|Black Butler II]]'', Ciel and Alois arrange to have a formal duel while their [[Battle Butler
* ''[[Deadman Wonderland]]'': The <s> [[Tokyo Fireball]]</s> earthquake happened on 4/4/2014, measured 11.4 on the Richter scale, and 148,000 people died/went missing. The odd number out is that it happened at 5 PM.
* In ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'', the [[Quirky Miniboss Squad]] of the first arc has four members.
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* The four of spades in the [[Osamu Tezuka]] [[Reused Character Design]] playing card deck is Kiriko, the doctor of death from ''[[Black Jack]]''.
* The fourth episode of ''[[Shiki]]'' is appropriately titled "Fourth Death". It repeats for episode 14, given the kanji used.
* In ''[[Your Name]]'', it is on October 4th that a fragment breaks off the comet Tiamat and strikes Itomori, causing the death of 500 including Mitsuha.
== Comic Books ==
* The Frightful Four was a group started by the Wizard in an attempt to form a villainous counterpart to his foes, [[The Fantastic Four]], consisting of himself, the Trapster, the Sandman, and Medusa. Problem is, however, Medusa was an [[Amnesiac Hero]] at the time, and when she recovered her memory, she betrayed them and left. Since then, the Wizard's inability to find a permanent fourth member of the team has almost become a [[Running Gag]].
** The Fantastic Four itself is this, in-universe, to a lot of alien races who have tried to conquer Earth and failed. Many alien cultures now view them as the [[Four Horsemen]].
== Fan Works ==
* In [https://web.archive.org/web/20120415134537/http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5597112/1/Humble_Shopkeeper Humble Shopkeeper], of the Bleach fandom, Shichi (an OC), whose (nick)name means 'seven', splits it into "Shi" (aka, 4) and "Chi", spelling them "death" and "blood", or, alternately, together "the place you die". This is explained due to her being an [[Crazy Awesome|insane linguist]].
* The four number is carried on in [[Kira Is Justice]], to the point that sixteen is a number used a few times. For example, the sixteen SIS agents.
== Film ==
* ''[[
** There's also the ''[[
* ''[[Shutter]]'' features a horror sequence where the protagonist is running down a series of stairs. No matter how many flights he goes down, it's always level 4. Creeeepy.
* In the Robert Duvall vehicle ''[[Broken Trail]]'', his character rescues from sexual slavery five immigrant Chinese girls. Since none of them speaks English, and he obviously doesn't speak Chinese, he names them "Number One" to "Number Five". When the girls realize this, "Number Four" objects to being given an unlucky number for a name. One of the other girls eventually accepts to be "Number Four", and she does so because she fully expects a tragic fate to befall
* Japanese horror film ''Gakkou No Kaiden'' revolves around things that haunt an abandoned school when the clock hits... 4:44AM. 4:44AM typically is more horrifying than 4:44PM, where it's [[Handwaved]] that it's actually 16:44.
* The Gang of Four in [[Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky]]; Huang Chan, Shorty, Taizan, and Hai.
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* ''[[House of Leaves]]'' has a lot of this: the Navidsons put four [[Sealed Evil in a Can|locks]] on the door leading to the scary parts of the {{color|blue|house}}; the {{color|blue|house}} is explored in teams of three with one person remaining behind to man the radios; there are four members of Will Navidson's nuclear family; there are four Exploration videos; and lots of little things peppered throughout the text.
* Seen on occasion in ''[[BattleTech]]'' novels set in or involving characters from the Draconis Combine. Which isn't a big surprise, since being feudal Japan [[In Space]]! is basically that Successor State's [[Planet of Hats|hat]]; it just means the authors [[Shown Their Work|actually did do some research]].
* Used verbatim in [http://www.artemisfowl.co.uk/downloads/atlantiscomplex_chapter1.pdf this early chapter] of the ''[[Artemis Fowl]]'' book ''Atlantis Complex''. Justified in that {{spoiler|the character in question is in the middle of a psychotic breakdown where he fixates on the number five.}}
== Live
* In the ''[[CSI]]'' seventh season episode "Toe Tags", this trope is mentioned as they investigate the drowning of the bodyguard of an Asian high roller at a casino. She had been drowned because {{spoiler|the high roller had bad luck and came unexpectedly back to his room and found her taking a bath in the bathtub he had had sprinkled with rose petals for good luck. So}} he blamed her for his bad luck.
* In ''[[Kamen Rider Den-O]]'', Momotaros, who counts his attacks, ends up missing "Part 4" due to some combination of tiredness and feeling unappreciated. When Ryotaro calls him out on this, he claims that not using four is cool and proves it by counting from one to ten... while skipping four.
* ''[[Kamen Rider 555]]'' had the Lucky Clover, a group of four elite villains.
* The same happened in ''[[Kamen Rider Kiva]]'', with the Checkmate four
* In ''[[Kamen Rider Blade]]'', the 4th Rider Leangle was possessed by the evil spider undead and could defeat the other Riders with ease during his first appearances. Sadly almost his whole life gets ruined by this. But after a few [[Heroic Sacrifice
* The original villains from ''Power Rangers'' follow this. Rita Repulsa's henchmen (Goldar, Finster, Baboo and Squatt) were her own equivalent of the Shitennou.
* In ''[[Power Rangers Dino Thunder]]'' Tommy Oliver wears his '''fourth color''' (green, white, red, black) and is the '''fourth''' ranger to join the team...but isn't exactly the luckiest in the season: First he gets encased in amber by the evil possessed White Ranger. When, some episodes later, he breaks out of it, he couldn't morph back to human form. Then when his genius friend Hayley tries invention on him to turn him back to human, he turns invisible and can't turn visible for a few episodes. After another experiment, he turns visible again, but falls unconscious. During his unconsciousness he has a dream in which he must fight 3 of his previous incarnations. After he defeats those and wakes up, things start to go better for him.
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* In the episode "Phantom Traveler" of ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'', planes keep crashing after 40 minutes of their departure. Later it is even mentioned that this is because four is a "biblical number" and "means death" ([[The Great Flood|Noah's ark and the forty days of flooding]] given as an example). Hell, the ''episode itself'' is the fourth episode of the show ever! On top of this, try to guess what's [[Thirteen Is Unlucky|the number of the gate the last plane takes off?]] Talk about [[Numerological Motif|numerological motifs]]!
** And then on season five we get {{spoiler|the four original [[Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]}}.
== Mythology and Religion ==
* Ancient Jewish tradition - see the Leviticus Rabbah for one - holds that the souls of the recently deceased will stay around their bodies for three days with the possibility of returning. By the fourth day the point of no return is passed. That Jesus resurrects Lazarus in ''[[The Bible]]'' on the fourth day the latter has been in the tomb was a point in support of His really being the Messiah rather than just some dabbler with a bit of power, and no observant Jew in the day would have missed that.
== Tabletop Games ==
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== Video Games ==
* ''[[Mega Man Zero]]'s'' Four Guardians of Master X, who served as X's generals and bodyguards. They would later become good guys of a
** ''Mega Man Zero 4'' has that [[Tear Jerker|heartbreaking]] conclusion, where it implies (we repeat, ''implies'', not confirms) {{spoiler|Zero was killed}}.
** In the same franchise, ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]] 6'' features EraseMan.EXE (aptly named KillerMan.EXE in the original Japanese version), an assassin Navi whose design draws on Japanese ''shinigami'' legends. When Mega Man fuses with EraseMan, he gains the ability to instantly kill viruses when the digit 4 is in their HP. As for Navis, they get an HP-sapping bug that eventually does them in.
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* The four bosses at the end of ''[[Street Fighter]] II'' are Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison, who form the "Four Devas" of Shadaloo (although this is downplayed in the later games, as the series introduced more members to the organization).
* ''Tenchu 2'' has the Four Lords of the Burning Dawn, who are named after the Four Heavenly Kings.
* The ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' series usually has a group of four bad guys who are tougher than any villain in the game except the [[Big Bad]]. The Four Wyvern Generals (initially three, but one is replaced after you kill him, meaning you fight four of them) in ''The Sword of Seal'', Four Fangs in ''The Sword of Flame'', Four Riders in ''Path of Radiance'', etc.. ''The Sacred Stones'' looks like it'll subvert this at
** In Fire Emblem 4 Seisen no Keifu, halfway through the game, {{spoiler|your army falls into Alvis' trap. Most of the army dies including the main character, Sigurd. The female characters who escaped the trap die rather quickly after having their children as well.}}
* In ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'', the Flower People's civilization went into the Dark Ages in their year 444.
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* Vexen, the fourth member of Organization XIII in ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', is the first one to die, assassinated by Axel when he attempts to betray the Organization in a bid for his life by revealing the existence of Roxas to Sora.
** Also, the fourth {{spoiler|and final, in Sora's story}} member you fight in Chain of Memories is Marluxia. Fitting, what with having a [[Sinister Scythe|scythe]] and all.
* In ''[[Persona 3]]'', October
* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask|The Legend of Zelda Majoras Mask]]'', Link must visit four dungeons, kill the four boss monsters, and retrieve their four masks. It turns out, though, that {{spoiler|the four masks hold the spirits of the Four Giants of Termina, who are good guys that help stop the moon from falling into the world at the end of the game.}}
** Including the Fierce Deity's Mask, there are four transformation masks (and being the fourth mask, it's the deadliest). The dungeons lie in the four compass directions. If you draw lines connecting the temples/areas in the order you visit them in on the map, it will be a big four (on its side). And {{spoiler|if you count the cut scenes at the end of the game, Link is in Termina for four days.}} The number was ''very'' important to this game.
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** Notice how the fourth game was the {{spoiler|end to the story (supposedly, and end as in no sequels), and everyone involved with the Patriots dies}}
** ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' has Dead Cell, which is comprised of Vamp, Fatman, and Fortune, and are led by Solidus Snake. This was done unintentionally though, since Dead Cell was initially planned to have more members than the ones that actually made it to the game.
* In ''[[Wild
** ''[[Wild
* ''Super [[Metroid]]'' calls attention to its four strongest bosses (excepting [[Big Bad]] Mother Brain) with a golden statue of the four clustered together that blocks the entrance to the final level. While the group is not explicitly given a name in the game, some sources refer to them as the Four Guardians (Kraid, Phantoon, Draygon, and Ridley).
* In the Shmup "Diadra Empty", flying dangerously close to one of the last bosses will give you a bonus called "Abyss Walker", worth 44,444 points.
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*** A less subtle example from the same game: after destroying the ballistic missile-launching submarine Hrimfaxi, the four pilots in the squad are nicknamed by the enemy "The Demons of Razgriz".
** ''[[Ace Combat Joint Assault]]'' has the four-man Rigel Squadron {{spoiler|that defects and becomes [[Recurring Boss]] Varcolac Squadron}}.
** ''7'' has the Osean 444th Fighter Squadron "Spare", an expendable penal unit where [[Anyone Can Die]] is in effect.
* The Vicious Ones, the main antagonists of ''[[Beyond the Beyond]]'', have four members (winged archer Dagoot, grotesque magician Yeon, and [[Big Bad]] [[Black Magic]] duo Ramue and Shutat).
* The [[Lufia]] series has four [[Big Bad
* ''[[River City Ransom]]'' has the Zombies, a faction of the Plague comprised exactly of four members. In the Japanese version, they were known as the Shitennou.
* In ''[[The World Ends With You]]'', Tigris Cantis, [[Shinigami|Konishi's]] noise form, has 4,444 hit points.
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** Hunk comes back as one of the four characters in the Mercenaries mode of Resident Evil 4. Consequentially, the fourth stage has the deadliest enemy in the game, which can spawn four times in a run.
** The Keeper's Diary in the first game. Since it's his own personal [[Apocalyptic Log]], the inexplicable "4" at the top of the last entry may have been a mistranslation. Since {{spoiler|the keeper attacks you before you get a chance to read the diary}}, it can mean death for you, too.
** In the
* ''[[No More Heroes]] 2: Desperate Struggle'' has {{spoiler|Margaret}}' who is a living embodiment of this trope. {{spoiler|1=She is the 4th ranked assassin of the UAA, [[Dual-Wielding|wields two]] [[Awesome but Impractical|gun/scythe hybrids]] and even has [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTlIzfL7tUI&feature=sub boss music that alludes to this].}}
* ''Makeruna! Makendou Z'' features four demon queens during the second half of the game: Honmanimou (a big-breasted cow woman), Honmadecker (a prison wardeness, who upon defeat {{spoiler|turns out to be Doro's wife, now back to her senses}}), Honmadengunner (a cyborg), and Honmayaner (an archer woman). Main villain Dr. Mud also tried to enslave Makenkah (whose real name was Kaimyouji Eizan) as a fourth cyborg general of his, the other three being Dinosaur, Chuuko, and Shou. Even further, this game is the fourth installment of the Makendou series (if you count the OAV), and seems slightly darker and edgier than the previous two games, ending with {{spoiler|the school building collapsing (with who knows how many people inside).}}
* In ''[[Nanashi no Game]]'', Riko at one point gets trapped on a creepy subway where every car is Car #4. {{spoiler|She dies at the end of that chapter.}} In addition, the company that created the game is located on the fourth floor of the building it's
* The four Knights of Danika in ''[[Ogre Battle]] 64''. You can also get a maximum of four Black Knights.
* In the Wii version of ''[[Punch-Out!!]]'', one of the challenges in Exhibition Mode requires you to defeat Japanese boxer Piston Hondo after blocking 44 jabs.
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* Many enemies from''[[Dark Souls]]'' have a four theme. You have the Four Lords, Gwyn's Four Great Knights and the corrupted monsters the [[Wolfpack Boss|Four Kings]].
* The [[Rance]] just loves the number four. There are the four apostles of Xavier, the four Demon Lords under the Demon King, that badly drawn monster that looks like a mutated 4-leaf clover, and so on.
* In ''[[Honkai Impact 3rd]]'', the Fourth Herrscher, {{spoiler|Wendy}}, is the first character to die, and this happens in the fourth chapter.
* In ''[[Ryu ga Gotoku|Yakuza]] 0'', there are four Mr. Shakedowns, basketballer-tall brick shithouses that are slow but immensely durable and who will put Kiryu or Majima's health and wallet in the grave quickly if they land any hits.
* In ''[[Saints Row 2]]'', the fourth mission in each gang's questline is the most dire, with {{spoiler|Carlos's [[Mercy Kill]]-worthy disfigurement, Gat getting hospitalised from a stab in the stomach, and Shaundi's abduction.}}
== Web Comics ==
* ''[[No Need for Bushido]]'', set in [[Feudal Japan]], features the Four Demons of Sorrow, the four elite [[Samurai]] or daimyo Wataro.▼
* ''[[8-
* On ''[[The Simpsons]]'' (Describing a skull) "That looks just like our number four."▼
* ''[[Our Little Adventure]]'' has introduced four high ranking members of the Souballo Empire who each seem to be in charge of a department.▼
* The Fearsome Four are the most competent bad guys in ''[[Zorro: Generation Z]]''.▼
== Web Original ==
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** The motif is continued in entry #'''4'''0 - posted on May '''4''', with screen tearing occuring at 4:40 on the [[YouTube]] player and {{spoiler|The Operator showing up moments later}}
==
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''
▲* ''[[No Need for Bushido]]'', set in [[Feudal Japan]], features the Four Demons of Sorrow, the four elite [[Samurai]] or daimyo Wataro.
▲* ''[[8-Bit Theater|Eight Bit Theater]]'', as noted on its page, has the four Light Warriors (the protagonists and arguably the worst thing to happen to the world), the four Fiends (some of the few actually dangerous enemies) and the four orbs to go with them (which are being used by the [[Big Bad]] for some diabolical purpose), the four Dark Warriors (a group of [[Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain]] characters), the four Other Warriors (inspired by Dungeons & Dragons classes), and the four real Light Warriors (making four warrior groups total). In addition, the average strip is four rows long. ... Yeah, that world is doomed.
** [[Show Within a Show]] example: Radioactive Man fought a team of villains called the Fossil Fuel Four, consisting of [[Silicon-Based Life|Old King Coal]], [[Dark Action Girl|Charcoal Briquette]], [[Everything's Better With Dinosaurs|Petroleus Rex]], and [[Testosterone Poisoning|The Fracker]]. While they looked like a group who ''[[Captain Planet]]'' might oppose, they were pretty nasty, managing [[Hero-Killer|to defeat and kill Radioactive Man]]. [[Death Is a Slap on The Wrist|Not that they're the only villains who can make that claim]], seeing as he's a comic book hero.
▲* ''[[Our Little Adventure]]'' has introduced four high ranking members of the Souballo Empire who each seem to be in charge of a department.
▲* The Fearsome Four are the most competent bad guys in ''[[Zorro: Generation Z]]''.
== Real Life ==
* This even carries over to ''technology''.
** The Sony company has created several successive types of digital video tape, named D-1, D-2, D-3, etc. There was no D-4, due to the stigma associated with the number ([[Fridge Logic|Yet they had no problem with using the fourth letter of the alphabet...]]). Some were surprised that Sony released the [[PlayStation 4]] as such due to the stigma. And it's even more surprising that the PS4 turned out to be the most successful eighth-generation video game console despite the number four leaving a black mark amongst Asians.
** Canon also has several product lines conspicuously skipping from 3 to 5, but not skipping 40 and other multiples of ten.
** Music equipment manufacturer Roland/Boss do this as well. The Boss guitar pedals are generally named along the lines of DD (digital delay) or OD (overdrive) and then a number. Guess which number is nowhere to be found in their product lineup.
** BBK Electronics' OnePlus line also skipped the number four per cultural tradition as they're based in China. Amusingly enough, "Oneplus 3," which, treated as arithmetic, equals "Four."
** Nokia, a Finnish company, also observe this to a large extent being that they had a huge Asian market in the 2000s. Among other things, they skipped the 4000 series and S60 4th Edition, though somehow they did release the Nokia 3410, a revision of the 3310, and the Series 40 platform for lower-end feature phones.
** Similarly, Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek seems to consciously avoid using the number four when naming their systems-on-chips.
** Asus skipped the number four with the release of the ROG Phone 5 gaming smartphone, also citing tetraphobia as their reason. Though they apparently had no problem with the earlier Zenfone 4 series back in 2017.
* 164 is a Chinese homophone for "one road to death". This was the reason that the Alfa Romeo 164 was marketed in many Chinese-speaking societies as the 168 instead. Which, incidentally, is a homophone for "one road to prosperity".
** There is a popular shopping
** Plenty of Chinese shops will put 168 in their signs for its auspiciousness.
* While US
* The [[wikipedia:Gang of Four (China)|Gang of Four]] from China were the four Communist party officials who were officially blamed for the Cultural Revolution. After their arrest, and during their trials, a massive hostile propaganda campaign was launched against them, which made ''full'' use of the four/death homophone.
* The [[wikipedia:Four Big Pollution Diseases of Japan|Big Four Pollution Diseases of Japan]] were four major environmental disasters which led to the establishment of the Environment Agency (the Japanese equivalent of the American EPA) in 1970. Three of the incidents took place in the 1960s, but the 1912 outbreak of cadmium poisoning called "itai-itai disease" is lumped in because a lawsuit wasn't brought until 1968.
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* Tea sets or chopstick sets are sold with 3 or 5 cups/pairs rather than 4.
* A common gift in China is three or five oranges, rather than four.
* Dice in East Asia, aside from arranging the pips differently, use [[
* The Rio Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas avoids the digit "4" in all floor numbers and room numbers. The floor just above the 39th is the 50th, for example.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
[[Category:Native American Mythology]]
[[Category:Evil Tropes]]
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[[Category:Useful Notes/Japan]]
[[Category:Number Tropes]]
[[Category:
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