Four Is Death: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Missing floors 6301.jpg|frame|Four's bad. Fourteen's even worse. Thirteen was glad for the company.]]
In
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''".
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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.
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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.
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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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*** 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]]s.
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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).}}
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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-
* ''[[The Simpsons]]'' ▼
* ''[[Our Little Adventure]]'' has introduced four high ranking members of the Souballo Empire who each seem to be in charge of a department.▼
** (Describing a skull) "That looks just like our number four."▼
** [[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. ▼
* 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.
▲** (Describing a skull) "That looks just like our number four."
▲* ''[[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
▲* ''[[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 ==
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** 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 centre in the Philippines called 168.
** 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.
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