Killing Off Characters: 10 Smart Tips

[@theajaxs720]

In terms of killing a key character and having them stay dead, I have 2 major rules. 1. Are there more interesting stories you can tell with the character dead, as opposed to them remaining alive? 2. Have the character's death match/honor the weight they have on the story.

[@samwallaceart288]

Good rules.

[@thatoneperson8154]

Yes these are great. Because personally I killed off a character that was sort of the glue of the team. So when they due it affects the dynamic of the team. So the rest of the team had to understand each other more since they can't rely on the person who is now dead to resolve their issues. It also had to be permanent since a temporary leave would have the team change but when they came back from their leave, it's human nature (I beleive) to go back to comfortable and familiar. So any thing the team learn in the character's temporary leave would be left behind since their back. And such no development. So finally I came to the conclusion that they had to die. It also drastically affects the facade the team has created if everything being fine, because now in their face they are confronted that everything is NOT fine. But yeah.

[@Wiltchamberlain90]

@@thatoneperson8154 same here the my main characters' best friend's big brother dies

[@oisinkeevers9146]

Don't necessarily agree with point 1. Sometimes it is the extermination of that potential that makes a characters death impactful. If you only kill characters whos story's have ended you'll never be able to catch your audience of guard or establish a sense of tension for the future. Of course not all storys have to do this and some artists don't want to write storys like that. However their are instances were actively undermining your first rule makes the death better as opposed to worse.

[@narutardednerd]

I like that One Piece had so many people live when it was super unlikely, being super uplifting for so long, but then... the deaths were meaningful and hit HARD.

[@BenStolynn]

I'd like a video on powers for a character and how to keep them balanced and not overpowered.

[@genicitygaming1869]

I think one punch is balanced

[@LaroonDynasty]

To balance powers, assign very specific parameters. If you want a certain power but don't want it game breaking, then set limits. Most shows that utilize "powers" or "abilities" generally aren't actually balanced, but the target audience isn't generally old enough to care. Others add drawbacks to the use of those powers. I utilize powers in one of my stories, but to balance it out, everyone has game breaking powers, so the threat is ever present.

[@TheHolyFox123]

Give a huge drawback like how deku has super strength but can injure himself with his own attacks

[@blackham7]

I think you should give it limits Like in One Piece Normal enemies cant hurt Luffy since the Devil Fruit made him into rubber, but other Devil fruit users can hurt Luffy. Not many Manga are interesting, because they dont do thos and also always emphasise a probability of death.

[@lllIIIlllIIlIlIIlIlI]

Yes please

[@whytmangatv]

How to Kill off characters?! Enjoy!

[@NrgBuster]

If you want good death, read Jojo's Bizarre Adventure. Someone dies every 10 chapters at a minimum. Even the protagonists.

[@tenworms]

Mostly dogs though.

[@Kaprykorn117]

NRG Buster Jojo deaths perhaps are the best Ive seen

[@sebas8225]

@Vikturr They are death flagged to hell.

[@lbeast2855]

cough *Akame ga kill* cough

[@xsosthephilosopher502]

@@lbeast2855 jojo is better cough*

[@cliffhanger646]

"WHEN WILL YOU LEARN?! THAT ALL YOUR ACTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES?!?!"

[@LuvsicVI]

Krillin's consequence when he gets revived is that he dies again, and the cycle repeats itself.

[@kaveloops]

Coming up with a character's goal Update: this was 4 years ago, I figured it out lol. Thanks for the tips though

[@tyshaun]

Thats a good one

[@4obamablackguy449]

that's easy

[@sleepyxtrap8488]

Look at the world around them n base it off what the character would actually want and what’s best for your story

[@DracoSlayer]

I think Jojo has some of the best deaths out there. There was a certain character death in Part 4 that not only showed off the motivation and brutality of the main villain but even made me feel sorry for a previously unlikeable character by showing a new side of the victim the audience hadn't seen before. Hell, there are plenty of other deaths in the series that get me, too just because Araki handles it so differently than many other writers. He's basically refined it into a science at this point. As for poorly handled deaths... Fairy Tail... While _some_ of the deaths in that show were kind of impactful, there came a point where I stopped caring when a character "died" because I knew they were probably going to come back one way or another. That show doesn't even have Dragon Balls, but Mashima still finds a way to bring 'em all back. Side character may not have the same luck, but if they have a Fairy tattoo of some kind on their person, they'll find a way back even if they're turned to sludge.

[@flyinyoku3543]

Oh. Do you mean... (JOJO PART 4 SPOILERS) 5 4 3 2 1 Aya Tsuji?

[@algridas4633]

nobody want to have a story full of krillins and yamshas XD

[@spaceshipgozooooom5646]

Whenever I introduce a new character in my story, I immediately become attached to them. Because of this, killing them off is very hard for me to do. At the same time, I don't want the cast of characters to overflow. If that happens, newer characters (or those with more spotlight) will overshadow the others and there will be too many gaps and irrelevant roles in the story. This really helps me out! Thank you!!!

[@ginkomushi7950]

those who kill off characters are scum but those who kill off my favorite characters are worse than scum

[@willofthecreator]

+Magnum (Halo 5) Obito Quote actually

[@garylytle1015]

+Infinity A actually I think 3 characters said that quote minato, kakashi, and obito

[@akithelostfly4626]

And with Neji being my favorite, he had, and I think, one of the worst kill offs I've ever seen. Like the most unnecessary death ever. For reason at all.

[@manu4manga680]

Hatake you bitch your cool hair always did put sasuke to shaame

[@w0rstart1st5]

*kills off your favorite characters* How's that feel? *throws the body into the dumpster* >:)

[@ohhhh]

my death that impacted me the most was wally west in young justice, ever since i was a kid i still remember *sniffs* he wasn't fast enough ;-;

[@DrawbackDrawback]

He might not be dead. Maybe he's like, in the speed force or some shit? Young Justice season 3 is coming out in case you haven't heard the good news. We'll find out eventually if it really is true. If it is, it just won't be the same without Wally.

[@ohhhh]

Drawback thats what i thought but the YJ universe doesnt have speedforce. Thats why they have no lightning when they run

[@DrawbackDrawback]

Lucid Phantom Oh. Did not know that.They can still travel through time and such without the speed force, right?

[@ohhhh]

Drawback I think so, they will just have to run 2 times faster then they did with the speed force. Or thats what people are saying

[@mikami1824]

Oh my gosh I cried and stopped watching the show for a bit cus I was depressed 😭

[@efan5317]

Thanks whyt, you've helped me push trough the struggles of art, I practice everyday and I'm improving, slowly but surely. Thank you.

[@njclawsart]

Jiraiya's death shall haunt me forever. And tokyo ghoul :re reaper death..... T_T

[@ULTIMATEGMAN47REVeRSElLOgiC]

A perfect example would have to be Fullmetal Alchemist brotherhood

[@DefensorPrime]

G-Man : DayWalker Reporter Agreed. Attempting resurrection is risky alright.

[@joannelee5574]

Way late reply haha, but FMA is a masterclass of character deaths imo!! Especially with deaths like Nina or Hughes being talked about even in 2024, they just feel very impactful and memorable. The whole series explores a lot of things about grief and it's really nice

[@AlexanderTheArt]

yes! a video for powers would be awesome please. I've been stuck writing powers for my characters for a while

[@StiusMarton]

I'm sorta obsessed with death in fiction, so nice video, od. Good luck with volume 2.

[@lockNload99]

Background music? It's so relaxing

[@natsuquilava7917]

Here's an idea i had: To not spoil to much, but in one of the major fights has two siblings fighting the main antagonist. One of the siblings dies trying to defeat them, after being forced to save the other and taking a fatal blow, and it fails, driving the other sibling to finish the job. They do find a way to bring the dead one back, but it leads to the revived sibling having non of their prior memories and an altered appearance. Basically, only the people who knew the person prior to their death would know anything about them. Is that a pretty good idea?

[@LJ-hk4tv]

Natsu Quilava I like it

[@natsuquilava7917]

Thank you

[@peynnep6483]

I wonder if "but the alive sibling has to take his brother's place in the afterlife to bring him back" would add to it

[@agacheandrei465]

I had an Idea like there is a new protagonist being revived from the old protagonist’s ashes and would have most of his personality, but not his memories

[@jaysonbossuet211]

the death that impacted me the most was Kamina from gurren lagann

[@TheHolyFox123]

Just watched that show kinda unexpected death bc ur like oh he died but hes back, wait... Bro?

[@erikkr.r.m7380]

Spoiler lmao

[@blackham7]

Mine was Pervy Sage from Naruto.

[@jaysonbossuet211]

Shadow Rogue sorry :(

[@jaysonbossuet211]

***** that also is #1 to me

[@P1akeUnknown]

your channel is so helpful....i wanted to make my own manga but felt i wasn't good enough but i came across one of you're videos and i got inspired.....i feel like other art videos beat around the bush but u get straight into it and all the problems i have you have the answers to them im truly grateful for everything you do thank you

[@vonritzenhoff9715]

I really enjoy how thy treat death in Re:Zero and how the main character slowly gets broken down and traumatized by all of these events. How isolated he looks and feel because of it. Its a good example of Killing off characters without "world consequences"

[@Rj-jr3xd]

Whyt I read your manga it amazing. So keep it up

[@joshuabarger8422]

All deaths matter, I see what you did there! XD

[@theempoleon78]

?

[@phpproxy]

#Alldeathsmatter lmao XD

[@theempoleon78]

Cosmos SLA A flip on #BlackLivesMatter? Is it?

[@phpproxy]

theempoleon78 yep

[@leonardocarolo6961]

You forgot some deaths that dont matter.... DBZ Ones

[@sandinochristian]

So... SPOILERS FOR APPLE BLACK Are we gonna learn more about Mikael after his supposed death?

[@whytmangatv]

Patience.

[@sandinochristian]

Im Waitin' :D

[@joshuawheeeler2925]

+Whyt Manga how much you get paid and how Old r u

[@w0rstart1st5]

Age doesn't matter, my friend.

[@DaddyDynastic]

I think a good example of this scenario being handled well is in a story called ALL YOUR FATES It's about a man constantly jumping through alternate realities and in some realities he'll maybe bond with a character that character will die he will be randomly sent to a different reality or that character is not only alive but is now an antagonist

[@anonimationghoul8798]

Amazing👊🔥👏👏👏👏👏

[@joshuabarger8422]

A great use of killing off a character, is also to add depth or just improve upon another character. A good example of this would be the death of Stoick in How to Train your Dragon 2. After Stoick died, it allowed Hiccup to step into his fathers shoes, and mature. The death of his father actually made Hiccup a much more interesting and mature character. Kill one character, make another twice as good.

[@Nihilism110]

The death of The band of the hawk from berserk was very impactful.

[@lifegame9542]

+ Whyt Manga WTF??!!!!I'VE NEVER FOUND ADVICE AS GOOD AS THIS?!!!YOU JUST EARNED YOURSELF A NEW SUBSCRIBER!!!!

[@Insovillainess]

On the resurrection thing, my main story has the main characters that are literally death with the ability to bring people back- and you can bring back a character completely as they were without making it seem inconsequential, you feel me? Like, they can only bring a person back once, they have to do it within a certain time frame, and the world is very heavily affected by their resurrection. Because that character isn't supposed to be alive, things that were supposed to be one way are dramatically shifted- and you can play up the characters' relationships with that too. The character that gets killed off and brought back in question literally ruins his brother's entire fate just by being alive, and that causes a rift in their relationship. The brother, who loses his drive and motivation to do anything at all, from that point forward sees his life as meaningless- because the meaning he was supposed to have was ripped away. But, that's how I see it at least.

[@darkrai49874]

Hunter X Hunter had some pretty good ones in the chimera ant arc

[@emanuelnieves4309]

glad i found ur channel really helps will be supporting ur manga look forward to your work helps me alote with mines

[@fraeofficial]

best deaths are in death note. both l and light dying made me cry. Also, characters like Ray Penbar, Rem, and Misa commiting suicide. All very well timed and sad. Worst deaths are dragon ball z. they just keep coming back lol

[@theragingpizza937]

*cough* Akame ga kill

[@fraeofficial]

+TheRagingPizza yeah...they were kind of bad too lol

[@gerardjolivet2994]

lol I didnt even get sad when Piccolo died in super, Piccolo even knew he was coming back. They need to loose those balls for a while.

[@rogerwho5012]

fraeofficial dammit almost done watching deathnote and i read your commit fucking spoiler

[@DragonNarutoEleven1]

Well at least in GT they did deaths right... Piccolo Died and Goku going to the sky with Shenron... Those were really sad for me...

[@trainerorange8483]

Yo WhytManga, sorry if this seems repetitive but you gotta fix the grammer in the manga. I love reading Appleblack and all, but it breaks momentum of reading when I just read a sentence and all of sudden be like "Hey, that doesn't seem right." Just a little criticism to help you. We love Appleblack and keep going

[@joshuabarger8422]

haha I know, my inner grammar nazi goes berserk.

[@trainerorange8483]

The editor I use for my manga is just my english teacher. So maybe he could sometimes let a librarian help him. They would be delighted to

[@kouseikun4025]

Trainer Orange

[@aiden4169]

You spelt "grammar" incorrectly. How ironic.

[@trainerorange8483]

Very

[@josiahwallacehailey7454]

man your such a awsome artist i red you manga so awsome keep up the good work!

[@obelac]

It's called the Lazarus Pit.

[@tonydawkins2833]

Most impactful death was flower guy in apple black. He had so much potential...

[@BeastKvng474]

The anime deaths that touched me the most is Sheele's death in Akame ga kill

[@stephen3109]

awesome vid...thanks for the tips

[@kosadahasagawa9338]

yeah power schemes for characters will be great bro

[@BlutsteinStudios]

I am an intermediate in Manga or comic drawing so I saw this title and I feel like I just stood upon a killers diary if you catch my drift. Anyway very helpful and killable tips for my characters to die through horrible deaths.

[@kimberlyheard8333]

tips on powers!? yes plz!! thnx whyt!!

[@Anspireofficial]

Great work - I really like your videos, they are interesting to listen to and nice to look at :)

[@Babysongebob1]

It's the Lazarus pit I believe. Like when Jason todd came back and he came back in Ras al gul's description "Damaged"

[@liamreeves2882]

I'm writing a story that is very heavy with death, this really helps me. SUB

[@sambridges4670]

It's called the Lazarus Pit, in the comics Ra's Al Ghul uses it as a source of immortality.

[@swag-hunterroronoazoro2398]

Long story short, don't follow any of DBZ's plot on how people die, chaotzu did die but who tf cares about chaotzu's death, piccolo would have meant something, no body at this point cares about Yamaha tien krillin, 18# etc

[@AlphaProto]

Anubis from Ronin Warriors. Great redemption story. Died kind of lame, (passed out face first in shallow water and no one flipped him over) but his last moments were great.

[@ThecatloverAD]

Please please please can you do the video you mentioned about naming your series? lol thank you if you do 💕

[@GeekedOutNeckbeard]

The Lazarus Pit is what you're talking about. In the comics, if I'm not mistaken, the pit moves around, and has to be constantly location and found but it's INCREDIBLY and INSANELY hard to find(until the plot fucking needs it lol) and very rarely will it be removed from the overall series as a whole. In the show I'm not sure the consequences of it, but I'm sure it'll return eventually. It'll probably follow comic book lore. The pit has a side-effect of driving the being insane, I believe depending on how they were dead. So they might be psychotic monsters upon their rebirth. Redhood regained his sanity after revival, just took a while and then began his rampage and hatred began for Batman.

[@kussamanga]

oberyn martells death from GOT was the most shocking death to me. changed the way I write fiction

[@dbztornadolord]

A good example is the way Al and Ed tried to bring their mom back in FMA

[@st3llar600]

Thanks for the great tips! And (HxH spoiler) I think kites death and rebirth was well done. He/she is literally a "new" characters

[@ajae311]

I think that scene in Persona 3 where Jinbei basically died, chidori gave up her life force to bring him back, resulting in her death was awesome. An equal tradeoff, but when looking at the relationship the two characters had, I think it was perfect. She was the one he wanted to protect.

[@dabidgarcia5859]

the irony behind full metal alchemist. the homunculus deaths are ironic to their sins

[@arkimaryuu]

awesome video hey whyt was wondering could u make a video on how to draw multiple people like a crowd and what type of research u need to do for the plot for a manga

[@4obamablackguy449]

I think if the topic of your manga is bases on mitology you should study till the death of each and every god or that sorta shit xD

[@allieyi]

If anyone's ever played it, Tales of Vesperia's "death" of Raven was really impactful when I as younger. Tales of Xilla's death of Alvin's mom enraged me beyond question. Mustafa from Fire Emblem Awakening was probably even worse than that, and he was only in 1-2 scenes.

[@codecatx5]

Flash Point. Is the best example of bringing people back having consequences.

[@Yrenne]

I like where you're going with that Jon Snow example but to me Gandalf might be a better example because even though he came back, it didn't feel like the same Gandalf we saw in the beginning (talking about the movies here, I don't know how true this is in the books). He was saying he didn't even know he was called Gandalf and some other stuff like that... it was kind of bittersweet to me having the same character back but him not being 100% the same.

[@emiliodelta980]

kamina-sama. I cried. I cried.

[@bananasonetime]

soundtrack name please it's so relaxing and enjoyable ..

[@brandonhixon7313]

Hello Whyt Manga. I have seen your videos and just wanted to say they are great (I'm sure you knew that already) and I know this video is a year old but I wanted to ask something. I'm writing a story called Dragon Soul and I wanted to bring that logic in comics where the superhero or supervillain is killed but by some means is brought back. Here's what I have and it hasn't been properly written down but it was something I thought of. So the main character Don Bosch who is partially a dragon but hasn't tapped into his full power which becomes a problem for him when a spell is cast on him and causes him to snap and taps into that power but it's unstable since he hasn't trained himself to handle it so one of the other characters has to kill him before he ends up destroying everything else. After that, his soul is brought to Death's Domain and fights off the dead souls that float among that realm while Death watches in amusement. Eventually a rift that balances Heaven, Hell and Earth are broken and allows the dead to walk among the living. That's when Don comes in and stops the antagonist who is the cause of the rift's destruction and has to return back to Hell when he undergoes ruthless training while also surviving. Eventually he comes back but Death messes with Don's soul and it causes a situation where his friends help bring his soul back to his physical. It doesn't sound well but as I said, it's just a random thought that I'd like to go with so I would like to hear your opinion about if you have the time. Thank you and good luck with Apple Black..

[@BlackfeatherLegion]

My manga will feature a pretty controversial death in the first major arc. Technically two, but only one that will be surprising.

[@theyisgreen.9883]

The Elric brothers from Fullmetal Alchemist to not die Edward gave up an a leg and to save his brother he gave his arm which he could only use to put his soul in a suit of armor so the consequences would be the arm, leg, and the fact that Alphonse(the brother) can’t eat(he just sits there at the table), sleep(he just lies on the bed), feel(no hugs no kisses),or feel like he is actually a human being(which is a recurring theme). They don’t die but the concept can work for a character that is brought back from the dead.

[@wolf00o25]

About rule 2 sorta like how chiyo brought gaara back to life but the cost was her own lift @whyt manga

[@iamdarcluawhoisyou3900]

A great example for resurrecting characters the right way is the voll daughter of smoke and bone. Basically, a certain person needs to collect the soul from the dead body and make a new one, but the process is very painful and difficult. And it's difficult making the body look the same so the resurrected person may feel out of place or wrong, there is for example a very gentle and kind character who gets this huge, scary, buff body and he feels pretty much awful and not like himself.

[@charlesrodriguez7984]

I’m making a story and I’m afraid of killing off the ‘good’ characters especially since I put so much time into drawing them and creating them so the most that happens to them is that they get badly injured and possibly even losing lots of blood. But they stay alive unless I feel like I can do so without feeling like they’ve gone too soon. I know this is four years late.

[@juniper7759]

+Whyt Manga i would like a video for coming up with powers for characters, because i typically struggle with that... mainly for my main characters

[@xlreiiden1726]

could you do a video doing 10 smart tips of how to start a history/manga?

[@Linda-cj3rw]

Well a consequence of bringing back a character, for example a time traveler, if the time traveler brings back his friend another character takes his place or the time traveler or the character you saved losed a hand or arm for example it depends obviously.

[@what-hn1od]

Linda ヂモプォス well technically, if "time traveler" saves his friend, the future, when the person was dead will stop existing making time travelling impossible to do, because if he is from the future (A) where the person died in the past, than saving his friend will resolve in entering future (B), still alive future, meaning he will never be able to go to the past, because he's in future (B)...

[@umbrella6011]

ok, is it bad that whenever I hear death now my mind goes straight to the death note intro and then I hum it to myself

[@Thabooka]

good example - Soul Eater - The one teacher was killed and came back as a zombie - he was a zombie the entire rest of the anime

[@peridotpockygod.9080]

for the arrow thing I think it was called the lazerous pit

[@HarbingerOfDeath0]

not sure if anyone's ever seen Blassreiter. but I thought that one was interesting with some character deaths, trying not to spoil. but the deaths pretty much always acted as driving force for another.

[@TheAngelLewis]

Arrow reference was the !!LAZARUS PIT!!

[@MrDotious]

Lazarus Pit ;)

[@MightGuy15]

your talking about the lazurus pit, a biiiiiig player in the DC universe and an all time favorite for batman villian Ra al Ghul who pretty much owns it.

[@breewashere]

Charlotte is a pretty good example of a time travel with a consequence

[@DEATHCHICKEN1337]

It's called the Lazarus pit.

[@ADLAA]

The game Ghost Trick:Phantom Detective is full of ways to bring characters back to life.

[@valareesparks2640]

can you explain how to write a foreshadow for a story?I really want those smart tips

[@djotterz4062]

Hiro Mashima fails horribly at making things feel like they have consequences. Prime example: recent Gajeel fiasco.

[@rolan5948]

It’s not him but his editors. That man isn’t even in control of his series anymore

[@nkanyisomalloy6930]

Animation is my thing.!!😎😍🙆

[@nactrumofficial5450]

Arrow had the Lazarus Pit. The consequence of using it to bring someone back from the dead is fhey return without a soul.

[@StudioP4VA]

I’m against the idea of killing off characters but if I had to choose the most impactful for me it would have to be Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop and Rosette Christopher, and her partner Chrono from Chrono Crusade.

[@GRANDCHASER999]

0:34 "Makes me wish you where on my side.".....

[@planedoc3738]

full metal alchemist did an awesome job at this kind of stuff. i think.

[@leeminchung9]

plane doc it did

[@HKahin]

DBZ Goku and Krillen etc. brought back to life with the dragonballs is obviously done well but after a while no longer can be resurrected.

[@KhyannArts]

i personally take dragon ball as a don't on the matter of deaths, like characters die but if they are main characters they are just revived after and there's nothing different, i think there should had been a limit to how many times someone can be revived

[@psalmsworld7050]

Watch Teen Wolf and Flash...alot of bringing back dead people took place there..especially Flash,that dude got a lot of fu$#ed up consequences.

[@foxbelle12]

Toby Ajao he done messed up

[@happymay9074]

What if you had main characters, like the entire story is about them, but three dies and leaving one to take over the story but it brings out some side characters, which turn them into the new main characters and those characters has to kill that last remaining one.

[@redpandagamer1686]

Is Apple black good

[@TrueClipsDen]

in my story i have 2 gods. they both balanced the earth. they gave one of my main characters part of their powers. she eventually died and went to their realm. the good god wanted to revive her but the evil one. the good one killed the evil one and absorbed the evil gods power and revived the girl but the consequence is that the good god has to balance the earth on her own and can't ever break focus or the world would fall into chaos

[@nero1ncore215]

do u have a video about special effects?

[@CWARrated]

Wash in Serenity/firefly...was one that bothered me.

[@narutardednerd]

Are there any Apple Black spoilers in this? I haven't read much past the first volume.

[@AJ-jv1wh]

It's called the " Lazarus pit" and it's not even supposed to be related to arrow. its a batman thing in the comics

[@zukolemon6549]

Telltale will remember that.

[@lukevankleef4245]

I have an idea for killing of the protagonist in a story I plan on writing. The protagonist sacrifices his live to safe his friends and a large city from being destroyed. Off course the other characters grieve for a bit and a different character takes up the role of hero. Then the protagonist comes back and everything goes back to normal, but then its revealed that it was actually an imposter and that the real protagonist is still dead.