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{{trope}}
[[File:rsz_wicked_witch_of_the_east_is_dead_742rsz wicked witch of the east is dead 742.jpg|link=The Wizard of Oz (film)|frame|"As Coroner, I must aver<br />I've thoroughly examined her<br />And she's not [[Only Mostly Dead|only merely dead]]<br />She's really most '''sincerely''' dead."]]
 
Where a major character is killed, and is not restored by a [[Reset Button]], or the death was not [[All Just a Dream]], or any of the other resurrection plot devices.
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* The final deaths of all the homunculi except Pride in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]''. Hughes, Fu, Buccaneer, Kimblee and Hohenheim die as well.
* ''[[Black Cat Detective]]'' is almost schizophrenic about this. On the one hand, this show has no problem killing characters for real. The evil mice [[Captain Obvious|certainly die when they get killed]]. His second in command, well, if you watch this show, don't get to attached to him. But the elephant who gets shot in the middle of the head at point blank range is revived by an enormous syringe.
* Played straight ''and'' subverted in ''[[Code Geass]]''. One of the elements contributing to its [[Broken Base]] status was the fact that sometimes a character would appear to be [[Killed Off for Real]], explicitly or at least implicitly, when in fact it was a case of [[Only Mostly Dead]] (Jeremiah, Mao, Guilford, and Cornelia) or [[Never Found the Body]] (Nunnally, Suzaku). The characters who DO die for real include, among others, Clovis, Mao (the second time), Euphemia, Shirley, Rolo, Emperor Charles, Marianne, Diethard and, finally, Lelouch.
* Everyone in ''[[Soukou no Strain]]''.
* ''[[Martian Successor Nadesico]]'' killed off Akito's friend and enthusiastic mecha pilot Guy Daigoji early on, and teased his return several times. The only time he ever appeared again was in a hallucination, and it wasn't Akito's. The character that ''did'' come back was a minor backgrounder. Another example of the show's recurring theme, "life is not like [[Super Robot]] anime".
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** The Universal Century timeline has this all over the place. Besides the millions upon millions who die in the background, major characters fall in some fantastically '''brutal''' ways. The most memorable of these comes during [[Chars Counterattack]], where {{spoiler|[[The Hero|Amuro Ray]] and [[The Rival|Char Aznable]] die at each other's hand in the climax.}}
** The Cosmic Era is hands down the [[Bloodier and Gorier|bloodiest]] and [[Darker and Edgier|darkest]] of the [[Alternate Universe|Non-UC timelines]]. [[Gundam Seed]] in particular saw the death of more main characters than the most violent of the Universal Century series, [[Victory Gundam]]. Thanks to higher technological capabilities at the time of production, all of the carnage was visible in high definition.
* The original Lockon Stratos was [[Killed Off for Real]] near the end of the first season in ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]''. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSraFV8AOvM It's arguably the most tragic moment in the whole series].
** Just when they're getting developed, Gundam 00 also has the deaths of both Lichty and Christina via point-black gunshot from a ''mobile suit''. It's made all the more tragic considering Lichty [[Heroic Sacrifice|used his body]] to shield Christina, but she got a large piece of debris jabbed into her back anyway. Just in case there was any thoughts they could survive, ''the cockpit also exploded''. This series is obviously fond of deaths by explosions.
*** And then there is the EXTREMELY satisfying death of Ali Al-Sachez near the end of the second season. The original Lockon's brother, Lyle, tried to spare him but when Ali tried to use the opportunity to kill him, Lyle quickdrew his pistol and shot him in the head then casually shot him a few more times in the torso to make sure. Quite fitting since Ali was the one who killed Neil/Original Lockon Stratos. On the other hand, Tieria was shot similarly a while earlier but [[Virtual Ghost|survived]] and came back in [[The Movie]] to kick some more ass... only to die ''again'' when his Gundam went into [[Super Mode|Trans-Am]] [[Explosive Overclocking|overload]] to avoid [[You Will Be Assimilated|being assimilated]]. He didn't stay dead this time either, unlike [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTREnsljqWk Graham] and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80vHif4TldY Andrei].
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** We might not see him again, but Leomon (Season 1 only) was presumably reborn, as Whamon was. Digimon who are destroyed get reborn in Primary Village. Except the evil Digimon, cause they never come back to cause trouble after they are destroyed. Etemon and Myotismon's deaths are retconned, but both are later killed for good. This only applies to Seasons 1 and 2; 3 is a different type of universe and it does not apply. Wizardmon, on the other hand, wasn't reborn, for reasons unknown returned as a ghost to help them defeat the Digimon Emperor, and then disappeared. (Maybe he was reborn after that?)
*** Wizardmon's death was, in fact, permanent. Because he died in the 'real world', there was no way for his data to be reborn.
*** Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon also got [[Killed Off for Real]],that "dungeon" crap was just [[Dub Text]],they clearly got killed in the real world just like Wizardmon courtesy of Myotismon's [[Bad Boss]] tendencies
*** In a sense Devimon returns as a ghost, but is destroyed for the second time along with Kimeramon
** ''[[Digimon Savers]]'' also works sort of like the first two seasons,until [[Complete Monster|Kurata]] figured out how to permanently kill off Digimon,which he did to [[Sacrificial Lamb|Frigimon]],[[Noble Demon|Merukimon]], Eldradimon,[[Asshole Victim|SaberLeomon]],and countless others.
* While ''[[Naruto]]'' has several [[Disney Death|Disney Deaths]]s, it also has several examples of this trope, including The Third Hokage, Asuma, Jiraiya, Itachi, Pain, and Danzo to name a few.
** Not anymore . . . Asuma, Jiraiya, and Nagato/Pain were brought back to life, though this trope is true for Jiraiya and The Third Hokage, and possibly Danzo.
*** That doesn't count; if they were truly brought back to life, they wouldn't be fighting the good guys like they are. They're walking among the living again thanks to Kabuto's Edo Tensei jutsu, which DOES let them have/keep their memories and bloodline abilities(if applicable) and stuff, but they're still not really alive and Kabuto can strip them of their will for absolute control if he so chooses. TLDR: The [[Killed Off for Real]] characters weren't really brought back, they're essentially [[Ninja Pirate Zombie Robot|super-powered zombie ninjas]].
* There's a common rule in ''[[One Piece]]'': If you die in a flashback, you're [[Killed Off for Real]]. If you don't die in a flashback, chances are, you might pull off a [[Disney Death]]. Prime examples of the former are Bellemere, Hiruluk, Tom, Kuina, Usopp's mother, all of Robin's friends and family members, and Brook's pirate crew. However, the latter rule saw itself subverted as hard as you can get, with Portgas D. Ace having fallen straight into this, and Whitebeard following two chapters later.
* In a subversion of [[Never Say "Die"]], in the English dub of ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'', Cecelia Pegasus is killed by an illness (prompting Pegasus to begin Duelist Kingdom as an elaborate ruse thrown together at the last minute so that he can get his hands on Yugi's Millennium Puzzle and resurrect her), Gozaburo and the Big Five are all destroyed along with the virtual world they are trapped in as it is destroyed (Noah isn't listed here because he is speculated to have saved his mind on a backup file, whether or not he did, and therefore invokes [[Never Say "Die"]]), and also Yami Marik, the Great Leviathan, Yami Bakura, and Zorc are all destroyed near the end of their arcs (although [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|how far these four can be subverted to Never Day Die is debatable]]. Ahmet is also eaten by a monster in a flashback during Season 5.
* ''[[Bleach]]'': [[Tite Kubo]] is quite good at making sure most villains are [[Killed Off for Real]]. However, it took 485 chapters before it was confirmed to the readers that Choujirou Sasakibe had received the dubious honour of being the first protagonist [[Killed Off for Real]].
* In ''[[Rainbow Nisha Rokubou no Shichinin]]'', Sakuragi dies about midway through the series. This is especially surprising since he was [[The Hero]], [[Big Good]] and possibly the protagonist as well.
* In ''[[Soul Eater]]'' manga there Mifune, Tezca, Arachne and, Joe.
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*** Not as of chapter 86...
*** Tezca is a bizarre case because he seems to be somehow immortal. After he dies, his soul is still alive, can still appear in mirrors, implies that he can just get a new body, and still counts himself as being one of the Death Scythes.
* ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' killed off Sayaka while the protagonist, Madoka, willingly erases her existence from both the physical world and the memories of (almost) everyone who knew her. Mami and Kyoko were seemingly [[Killed Off for Real]] only to be brought back in the final episode.
* Most of the cast of ''[[Rose of Versailles]]'' are killed off at the end of the series (save for Rosalie, Bernard and Alain). Since it took place in [[The French Revolution]], this is [[Foregone Conclusion|a given]].
* Everyone who was dear to, or trusted by, the protagonist of ''[[Le Chevalier d'Eon]]'' is dead by the end of the series -- [[Downer Ending|leaving him completely alone and utterly disconsolate.]]
* ''[[Inuyasha]]'': [[Rumiko Takahashi]] isn't afraid of this trope. Not only do major villains get [[Killed Off for Real]], but so do characters going through redemption arcs such as [[Came Back Wrong|Kikyou]] and [[Broken Bird|Kagura]].
 
 
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* [[Marvel]]'s [[Captain Mar-Vell|Captain Marvel (Mar-Vell), Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell)]], Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Scarlet Spider (Ben Reilly), Banshee (Sean Cassidy), Thunderbird (John Proudstar), Mastermind (Jason Wyngarde), Unus (Angelo Unuscione), Abomination (Emil Blonsky), Baron Heinrich Zemo, George Stacy, Synch (Everett Thomas), Destiny (Irene Adler), Hornet (Eddie McDonough), Goliath (Bill Foster), Iron Monger (Obadiah Stane), Jean DeWolff, Karen Page, Lilandra Neramani, Microbe (Zachary Smith Jr.), Pyro (St. John Allerdyce), Robert Kelly, and Moira MacTaggert are all, at the moment, very much dead, among others.
* [[The Other Wiki]] [[wikipedia:List of dead comic book characters|lists]] these and other characters but notes it [[Death Is Cheap|can change at any time]].
* In a move that surprised those who were still reading it, Master Splinter was killed off from old age in Volume 4 of the Mirage ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Mirage|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' comic--perhapscomic—perhaps the highest point in that volume of the series. The Shredder and Baxter Stockman--unquestionablyStockman—unquestionably the franchise's most prominent antagonists--areantagonists—are also dead.
* Several of the [[G.I. Joe|G.I. Joes]]s have been [[Killed Off for Real]] over the years. And not just ones created for the comic book, like Mangler. Those with actual figures. The most notably would probably be Lady Jaye, who was killed by Dela Eden, member of the Red Shadows.
* [[Peter David]], in his book, ''Writing for Comics'', said that the best way to have a character killed is in a very deliberate, human way. His example: In ''Fallen Angel'', a key character was shot six times in the head and then kicked off a building. He got letters asking if that character was really dead. If he'd been magicked off into a dark dimension, he'd be back to life. No questions asked.
* The Sentry, Marvel's Superman [[Expy]] with more power and psychological problems than is good for him was killed after his human identity begged a supercharged Thor to kill him before the [[Super-Powered Evil Side|Void]] regained control. Considering how much crap the guy has gone through over the years, it's hard not to feel sorry for him. Thor dropped him into the Sun, but he can resurrect himself at will, so it's doubtful if it will stick.
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** The Paladin.
* Cilla in "[[I Miss You I Miss You]]".
* Most Americans are unaware that Geralt was [[Killed Off for Real]] at the end of ''[[The Witcher]]'' novel series (mainly because only the first book has been translated from Polish). [[The Witcher|The game]] [[Retcon|retconnedretcon]]ned this to an [[Unexplained Recovery]].
* Balefire in the [[Wheel of Time]] combines this trope with short-term [[Ret-Gone]] (the extent of its effects determined by how much power is used). Even the Dark One can't resurrect someone killed by Balefire. However, it can be destabilizing - too much retconning will ''literally'' unravel the "threads" of reality.
 
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** And because Joss Whedon hates us, Buffy Season 8 gives us Giles.
* Doyle, Wesley, and Cordelia on ''[[Angel]]''. The personality of Fred was also permanently destroyed by an elder god taking over her body, in spite of the entire cast utilizing the resources of an interdimensional law firm to bring her back. [[Word of God|Had the show been renewed]], however, Fred and said elder god would have somehow been split apart. this may already be happening the canonical comic follow up.
* ''[[Friends]]'': Joey angers the writers of the soap opera he is working on, and they kill off his character by throwing him down an elevator shaft. The gang is watching the show when Phoebe says "Well, maybe they can find a way to bring you back" only to be told by Joey [[Chunky Salsa Rule|"They said that when they found my body, my brain was so smashed in that the only doctor that could have saved me was me. Supposed to be some kind of irony or somethin'."]] He did eventually come back in the end, with a different -- female -- braindifferent—female—brain in his body. Though the female brain thing only lasted one episode and then Drake was actually back.
* A similar plot was used decades earlier by the British show ''[[Hancock's Half Hour]]''. In an episode where the Hancock character is a BBC radio soap star (in a parody of ''[[The Archers]]'') the other actors are so fed up with his erratic acting style that the producer finally decides to kill him off. Unfortunately it turns out that the character was more popular than the producer thought and the BBC receives a barrage of hate mail. Eventually Hancock agrees to come back as the original character's twin brother - but only if he is given full creative control, which he then uses to kill off the ''rest'' of the cast.
* One of the interesting aspects of HBO's ''[[Oz]]'' is their frequent killing of main characters, even ones who had been well-established over multiple seasons. See [[Anyone Can Die]].
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* Some killings don't provoke the best of reactions from viewers. [[Television Without Pity]] writes of a killing on ''[[Charmed]]'' in its summaries for the latest eps: "In other news, Big Gay Chris remains dead. Bastards!"
* Any number of doctor deaths on ''[[ER]],'' including Lucy Knight (victim of a mental patient), Mark Greene (brain tumor), Robert Romano (helicopter fell on him, ''twice''), and Michael Gallant (roadside bomb while serving in Iraq).
* Den Watts was [[Killed Off for Real]] in ''[[Eastenders]]'', but as proof of just how hard it is to kill a soap star, he was resurrected many years later with the [[Retcon]] that he was hiding in Spain. But after this miraculous recovery from the choir invisible, he was finally really, ''really'' killed, and just to hammer it home to future writers not to bring him back, there was a whole arc around the disposal, discovery and then burial [[Disposing of a Body|of his body]]. So he can't be brought back this time... [[Zombie Apocalypse|we hope]].
** Parodied in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' episode "Army of Ghosts"; when the Doctor is flipping through TV channels, he lands on ''EastEnders'', where Den Watts's ghost appears in the Queen Vic. Peggy, exasperated, yells, "GET OUT OF ME PUB!" at him.
* ''[[Doctor Who]]'' occasionally kills off a character for real, one example including Adric.
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* ''[[The Wire]]'' would often kill off major and supporting characters in pretty vicious and unheroic ways. Thanks to the show's strict real world nature and no flashback policy if a character was killed you knew you'd never see that character again onscreen in any capacity whatsoever. Victims of this tropes include: {{spoiler|Wallace, Frank Sobotka, Stringer Bell, Brody and Omar.}} And that's just the main characters that bite it, the list gets a lot longer if you add important supporting and recurring characters.
* ''[[Supernatural]]'' - Even if some of them do appear afterwards (through flashbacks, time travel, and the sort), the Winchesters' mother Mary, their father John, Sam's girlfriend Jess, Ash, all the psychic children in the Second Season Finale, Azazel, Bela ([[Word of God]] that she's never coming back), Pamela, Lilith, Ruby, Ellen and Jo Harvelle, Zachariah, Gabriel, Rufus, Balthazar, Raphael, and Bobby Singer all die for real.
* Most deaths on ''[[Lost]]'' are of this variety. The exceptions are Charlie's [[Disney Death]] and Shannon's [[All Just a Dream]] death in season 1, plus a few [[Not Quite Dead]] villains since, but all of these have later ended up [[Killed Off for Real]]. Due to flashbacks and apparitions, most characters have appeared at least once after their deaths, which gives the writers the luxury of writing "real" deaths but still using the characters and actors when they'd like to.
** Ethan Rom is notable for appearing in more episodes ''after'' his death than before it, thanks to flashbacks.
** Season 5 played heavily with this trope. Upon returning to the island, John Locke came back to life after being strangled to death by Ben. But in the season finale, it was revealed that Locke actually ''was'' dead- Jacob's unnamed nemesis had somehow taken on his appearance and used it to manipulate the Others.
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{{quote|--'''Benjamin Linus'''}}
* The majority of the cast of ''[[The Sopranos]]'', including the vast majority of the mafia characters of any prominence. Of the mob-level characters who make the main cast, you can more or less count the number who are still alive by the series' end on ''two hands.''
* In the final episode of ''[[Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future]]'', Jennifer dies when the Power Base self-destructs. Even though there was a fairly blatant angle for her to come [[Back From the Dead]] (The very last thing we see of her is Blastarr aiming his digitizer -- adigitizer—a device which can save humans to disc for archival -- atarchival—at her), the [[Word of God]] is that not only did she die, but she already had massive internal injuries from the preceding scene that would have killed her even if she hadn't been blown up. Had the series been renewed, much of the following season would have dealt with Captain Power's failure to cope with her death.
* In the period drama ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs]]'', Lady Marjorie Bellamy sails to visit family in America and Canada in April of 1912. She's on the Titanic.
* Yes, noone but Marian in ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]''.
** And as of the end of season 3 Guy of Gisborne, Allan a Dale and Robin Hood himself
* ''[[Farscape]]'' set up a brilliant loophole for themselves by having main character Crichton doubled. NOT cloned; the resulting two people were one person made two, with both having an equal claim to being the "real" Crichton. Thus, when one was killed off the writers were able to fully play off the emotions surrounding that death while still keeping the character around. And D'argo is definitively [[Killed Off for Real]] in a [[You Shall Not Pass]] [[Heroic Sacrifice]] in The Peacekeeper Wars.
* Henry Blake in ''[[M*A*S*H (television)|Mash]]''. He "survived" the next night on ''The Carol Burnett Show''.
* Valerie Hogan in ''[[Valerie]]'', when Valerie Harper had a contractual dispute with the producers. Well, they kicked her off the show, her character was killed off, and eventually the show was renamed ''The Hogan Family''.
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** And Mike Franks, too.
* In ''[[Reno 911]]'' Deputies Garcia, Johnson, and Kimball were killed in the parade float crash.
* ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'': Eden McCain, Simon Deveaux, Isaac Mendez, Daniel Linderman, D.L. Hawkins, Kaito Nakamura, Niki Sanders, Bob Bishop, Adam Monroe, Elle Bishop, Arthur Petrelli, Benjamin "Knox" Washington, Daphne Millbrook and Nathan Petrelli. All major or significant recurring characters, and all [[Killed Off for Real]].
* Two cases in ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', Kutner committing suicide in the middle of Season 5, and Amber's death being the focus of the 4th Season Finale.
* ''[[Torchwood]]'': In just five episodes, we lost Tosh, Owen and Ianto.
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** And now Sgt. Hunter Riley on ''[[Stargate Universe]]''.
** SG-1 has a (somewhat distracting) habit of giving [[Not Quite Dead|recurring villains]] with a bad habit of [[Back From the Dead|coming back from the dead]] ambiguous death scenes in which you [[Never Found the Body|never see the body]]. ...in at least two cases, Apophis and Hathor, said villains were actually ''never seen again''.
*** After Apophis is finally killed off, Jack O'Neill even lampshades this tendency, revising his 100% certainty that their four-season opponent was dead down to "99% sure". Then the guy returns in hallucinations and [[Alternate Timeline|Alternate Timelines]]s.
* In ''[[Dexter]]'' Rita, Dexter's wife is killed off for real at the end of season 4. Ironically, in a show about a killer, where minor and major characters are killed off constantly as part of the show's concept, this death is especially poignant and heartbreaking.
** Also, Doakes in season 2 and Lundy in season 4 were also major characters who met their ends.
* ''[[Sesame Street]]'', of all shows, used this--[[The Character Died with Him|to deal with the fact that Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper, had also died.]]
* It's to be expected in a soap opera, but if a character leaves ''[[Neighbours]]'' they either get [[Put on a Bus]] or are [[Killed Off for Real]]. There are very few inbetweens. A few examples of characters [[Killed Off for Real]] are: Daphne, Kerry, Todd, Jim, Julie, Cody, Cheryl, Helen, Madge, Drew, David, Stingray, Marco, Bridget, Ringo, etc.
* In ''[[Tinsel]]'' Monica Ade-Williams and Reginald Okoh.
* In ''[[Chuck]]'', Bryce Larkin is killed at the end of Season 2, and Emmett Millbarge at the beginning of Season 3. Stephen Bartowski at the end of season 4 as well.
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== Tabletop Games ==
* ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' had this happen to a race as part of a retcon.
** [[Late Arrival Spoiler|Horus]] would be an example of this happening to someone who isn't a [[Red Shirt]] and had access to ways of cheating death. He was [[Killed Off for Real]] by a psychic attack from the Emperor that ''obliterated his soul''.
** Captain Tycho of the Blood Angels was killed off in the Armageddon worldwide campaign.
** Eldrad Ulthran of the Ulthwe Craftworld (plus his coterie of Seers) was [[It Got Worse|killed in the end of the Thirteenth Black Crusade]] because he had no idea that a [[Forgotten Superweapon|Talisman of Vaul/Blackstone Fortress]] had already [[Oh Crap|been inhabited by a manifestation of]] [[Fate Worse Than Death|Slaanesh]]. Though the newest codex allows you to field him in your army as 'a symbol of hope' because a few of the soulstones he delivered to various battleseers during the 13th Black Crusade did not all fade.
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== Theatre ==
* ''[[Angels in America]]'' -- Roy—Roy Cohn, mere seconds after faking his own death as a trick.
 
 
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** In ''[[Final Fantasy IV]]'', [[Heroic Sacrifice|Tellah dies]] after casting [[Eleventh-Hour Superpower|the ultimate magic Meteo to defeat Golbez]]. In a title positively ''dripping'' with [[Unexplained Recovery|Unexplained Recoveries]], this is a little jarring.
*** To add insult to injury, [[Senseless Sacrifice|Golbez survives]].
** In ''[[Final Fantasy IV: The After Years]]'', a number of characters can be [[Killed Off for Real]] if you screw up. In Rydia's Tale, Calca and Brina will, after glitching due to magic, be scrapped in order to repair the airship, unless you get the Mythril parts. In Edge's tale, All fo the ninja under Edge will die for real if you die during their mission before meeting back up with Edge. Time for some [[Save Scumming]]! And in the final chapter, It's possible to lose Golbez forever.
** In ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' Shadow can die for real if you don't wait for him on the floating continent.
*** Also, General Leo is killed off for real in a cut scene after the first and only time you get to use him as a party member.
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** In ''[[Phantasy Star|Phantasy Star II]], Nei is either killed by NeiFirst completely overpowering her or dies after killing NeiFirst due to them being part of the same original being - even the Clone Shop says that nothing can be done. Subverted in the Sega Ages remake - after completing a process that can only be described as [[Guide Dang It]] on a MASSIVE scale, Nei is resurrected without fanfare at the Clone Shop as if it was a normal combat death.
** In ''[[Phantasy Star|Phantasy Star IV]], Alys Brangwin is hit by, declines from, and permanently dies [[Heroic Sacrifice|due to saving the main protagonist Chaz Ashley]] from the Dark Energy Wave. It is specifically mentioned that healing techniques do nothing to help as her health declines.
* ''[[Tekken]]'' has several cases of this, especially after the time skip and Ogre attacked and absorbed several characters' abilities, with suspicions that he [[Killed Off for Real|killed them for good]]. But most characters later were brought back in the latter installments, thereby setting up that the only one [[Killed Off for Real]] were Jun Kazama and the original King. Not to worry, they got their successors all right (Asuka and the second King).
** Armor King was another case where at first, he's thought to be [[Killed Off for Real]] outside the Ogre interference (Marduk killed him), but he reappeared in ''Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection''. However, his personality is rather different, raising predictions whether Armor King really came [[Back From the Dead]], or it's Armor King's successor and the first Armor King was really [[Killed Off for Real]].
*** ''Tekken 6'' reveals that the Armor King who attacked Craig is the brother of the original Armor King; he even used the same outfit and stage name alongside his brother at the same time.
** Kunimitsu was supposedly killed off for real by Yoshimitsu in ''Tekken 2'', although there's no official [[Word of God]].
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** The death of this same voice actor ([[Kaneto Shiozawa]]) also necessitated the killing off of another his characters, ''[[Rival Schools]]''' Hyo Imawano at the end of ''Project Justice''.
* ''[[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty]]'' has a character named Vamp who, no matter how many times he'd seemingly "die," he always comes back to life. Metal Gear Solid 4 explained this as a result of nanomachines enhancing his already powerful healing factor, and once Snake disables them with a syringe, Raiden is able to kill him off for good.
** ''[[Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots]]'' ties up the Solid storyarc with ''lots'' of this. Big Boss, who was [[He's Just Hiding|just hiding]], is finally [[Killed Off for Real]], as is Solidus. The same might safely be said for Ocelot but he's... [[Magnificent Bastard|well, you know]].
* In ''[[Persona 3]]'', Shinjiro Aragaki bites it a mere month after he joins your party. And so does Junpei's love interest, Chidori (though in the FES version of the game, it is possible to resurrect her). And in the very end, the Main Character sacrifices his life to save the world.
** It's also possible to save Shinjiro in the PSP version.
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* Tassadar, in the original ''[[Starcraft]]'', dies to save the galaxy from the original Zerg Overmind. It is completely real, as far as video games go: he gives a stirring speech to those who will live on after him, to remember what was done there that day, which is then followed by the cinematic of him effectively blowing himself up via his awesome psionic abilities, and taking the Overmind with him. In sequel games, the death is so complete that the Protoss change their usual greeting of "An'taro Adun," which effectively means "May Adun protect you," to "An'taro Tassadar." If he were brought back, it would destroy half the ''Starcraft'' canon.
** In the sequel, it seems that Blizzard has managed to do just this without ruining the canon. Tassadar comes back just long enough to warn Zeratul of the impending apocalypse in the capacity that Obi-wan does in ''[[Star Wars]]'', as a sort of Force ghost, or Khala ghost, as it may be.
** Many other characters are also killed, most of them in the Brood Wars expansion and some in official (or authorized) side campaigns. Other than obviously the Overmind (and the new Overmind formed to replace it); these include Raszagal, Gerard DuGalle(suicide), Edmund Duke, Fenix (died, came back, then [[Killed Off for Real]]), Aldaris, Alan Schezar, probably Ulrezaj, Atticus Carpenter, Edullon, Jack Frost and EVERY ZERG CEREBRATE. Most of these are unlikely to come back, however it is not impossible as Fenix came back once before dying again, and it turns out Alexei Stukov is definitely [[Back From the Dead]]. Even so, the only ones likely to come back are the cerebrates...and probably not the same ones. Other characters also die in other media, such as the novels.
* While a few characters in the ''[[Warcraft]]'' series have cheated death such as Medivh, many others have been [[Killed Off for Real]]. King Llane, Blackhand, Gul'dan, Anduin Lothar, Ogrim Doomhammer, King Terenas, Uther the Lightbringer, Grom Hellscream, Tichondrius, Mannoroth, and Archimonde from the RTS games have all died in ways to show that they likely won't be coming back, even with all the resurrection and necromancy present in the series. Llane had his heart ripped out, Blackhand had his head cut off, Gul'dan was torn apart by demons, Lothar and Doomhammer both died on the battlefield (not the same battle), Terenas and Uther were both slain by Arthas with Frostmourne, Hellscream died in a [[Heroic Sacrifice]], Tichondrius was permanently killed by Illidan after Illidan absorbed the Skull of Gul'dan's power, Mannoroth was killed by Hellscream's aforementioned [[Heroic Sacrifice]] (and his ''skeleton'' has been made into a memorial dedicated to Hellscream), and Archimonde was ''disintegrated'' by the released power of the World Tree. And that's not even covering the characters permanently killed by the players in ''[[World of Warcraft]]''. Although Gul'dan's soul "lived on" within his skull.
** In the Wrathgate event of [[World of Warcraft]]'s Wrath of the Lich King expansion, Highlord Bolvar Fordragon and Dranosh Saurfang are killed off for real. With Wrath's new "phasing" technology it's now possible to kill NPCs off for real for any individual player by changing the way they interact with the game world. This happens to a number of NPCs in several quest lines, after which they are never encountered again by that player and other NPCs will refer to them in the past tense. (Although they can still be not-yet-killed from another player's perspective.)
*** As of the most recent patch, neither were actually [[Killed Off for Real]]. Saurfang returns as a [[Tragic Monster]] boss, Deathbringer Saurfang, in the Lich King's dungeon, and while we have yet to see Bolvar, he appears to be suffering a [[Fate Worse Than Death]] at the hands of the Lich King.
**** Technically Saurfang the younger was killed off for real, but was raised as an undead abomination. With his destruction, he is very much killed off for real. As for Bolvar, the final cinematic reveals his burnt, tortured body is trapped between life and death due to a mix of the plague and the life-bringing flames of the red dragonflight. Oh, and he becomes the new Lich King, doomed to pull back on the leash of the scourge for all eternity. Maybe dying wouldn't have been so bad?
*** As of Cataclysm, still ''more'' [[NPC|NPCs]]s have been killed off for real. The one most likely to hit home? The Grimtotem clan took advantage of a duel to assassinate [[Badass Grandpa|Cairne]] [[A Load of Bull|Bloodhoof]] and try to pin it on [[Creator's Pet|Garrosh Hellscream]]
* The MMORPG ''Shaiya'' does this to players playing on [[Harder Than Hard|Ultimate Mode]]. While you have access to the most powerful weapons and equipment on that difficulty level, if you don't get revived by an ally within three minutes of your character's death, that character's data is ''erased'', and you have to start all over.
** There is actually an AP item (premium item that you have to pay REAL money for) called "Character Revival". It costs 7500 AP. The exchange rate of AP to USD is approximately 100:1 (i.e., it'll cost you $75). However, seeing as how you have to reach level 40 on both Normal and Hard mode (no mean feat, if you don't use AP items and have a life outside of playing the game) to be able to create an Ultimate mode character in the first place AND it takes 4x the normal XP to level such a character, it may be worth it.
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** Then Mark Hamill did more work as the Joker and said that he never detailed his retirement from the Joker character even though he widely pronounced it
* This is Nanako's fate in the [[Multiple Endings|worst ending]] of [[Persona 4]]. However, that's only if you ''really'' screw up. In every other scenario, she suffers a mere [[Disney Death]].
* ''[[Dark Souls]]'' does this [[Anyone Can Die|''a lot'']] of [[NPC|NPCs]]s. Oddly enough, when they die or are killed by you, they die for real despite the Darksign supposedly bringing people back from the dead repeatedly.
 
== Webcomics ==
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** [[It Got Worse]]: The trolls are dying with [[Kill'Em All|alarming frequency]](Though at least one got better.) and both the kid's and troll's guardians are all officially dead. On the other hand, the fairly generous afterlife offered by the dream bubbles means that death is little more than a minor inconvenience. Though it still equates to putting them on a bus for all narrative purposes.
* In ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'', where as a general rule [[Death Is Cheap]], Lord Shojo was attempted to be resurrected, but apparently he refused to come back (in [[Dungeons and Dragons]], resurrection spell only works if the subject is willing to come back). Similarly, Therkla said she wouldn't come back just before she died. Other characters were killed [[Deader Than Dead]], such as Kubota. Miko is a special case: while there is no in-story proof, [[Word of God|the author]] specifically said she won't come back.
** We can now add [[Dark Chick|Tsukiko]] to the list as well -- Redcloakwell—Redcloak just had her own wights kill her and eat her body, and no body means no resurrection.
*** And this came within strips of Redcloak having [[Total Party Kill|completely wiped out]] the Resistance (with the exception of Niu, who escapes).
* Lt. Col. Thomas Knowlton is killed off for real in ''[[The Dreamer]]''.
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== Western Animation ==
* ''[[WITCH (animation)|WITCH]]'' killed off quite a few of the lesser villains, such as Tridart and Ember being disposed of by Nerissa when they were no longer needed. In the finale, Tracker is also subsequently impaled and killed.
* Thanks to [[Media Watchdogs]] and the cultural osmosis of [[Back From the Dead|a certain comic book trope]], being [[Killed Off for Real]] in American children's programming is so rare, it's hard for some to grasp. Jet's fate on ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', despite being tragically obvious, was surrounded by [[He's Just Hiding|speculation]] that he somehow survived. They just don't do that in kids' shows! [http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/index.php?category=0&id=40634&type=0 A SciFi.com interview with the program's creators], however, has confirmed this character was indeed [[Killed Off for Real]].
** In the third season, Combustion Man is also Killed Off For Real.
** Yue in the first season finale. An odd one, as the excuse for Jet's death not being shown was that the network wouldn't let them show a kid die onscreen - but Yue's death ''was'' onscreen, and she was the same age. It ''might'' be because Jet's was a violent death, while Yue's looked more like she fell asleep, and she was shown becoming the Moon Spirit immediately after, while Jet was just dead.
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** Frank "Grimey" Grimes is dead and his son confirmed it.
** Also possibly averted with Lionel Hutz's habit of repeatedly running over Judge Snyder's son. Being repeatedly run over might be enough to kill the Judge's son, but like Mr. Burns in "Who Shot Mr. Burns Part 2", [[Unexplained Recovery|his conditions must have been upgraded to alive at the "better" Springfield General Hospital everytime.]] Because Lionel Hutz, like Troy McClure, was retired when voice actor [[Phil Hartman]] was killed off for real by his wife in a murder-suicide, it is not known of Hutz's habit has continued and the Judge's son is always killed, then revived.
* In ''[[Jonny Quest: The Real Adventures|The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest]]'', while the show's other main villains tended to get the [[No One Could Survive That]] treatment in their last episodes -- andepisodes—and since the show didn't get a third season, it's probably safe to say that they're gone for real -- Ezekielreal—Ezekiel Rage had an established tendency to cheat death. Therefore, [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|just to be sure]], he got sent back to prehistoric times and blown up by a nuclear bomb, [[Never Found the Body|leaving a skull behind]] for good measure. [[Deader Than Dead]]? Deader than dead.
* ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'' has quite a few, most [[Tear Jerker|heartbreakingly]] 24's death by exploding muscle car.
* In ''[[King of the Hill]]'', quite a few recurring or main characters have been killed off over the years including Luann's first boyfriend Buckley, Buck Strickland's mistress Debbie, Pops Poppaseto, Cotton's war buddy Topsy, and most recently Hank Hill's father Cotton Hill.
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