Originally Posted by
MFauli
Unfortunately, too many writers share that line of thinking . :/
I find nothing more boring than deaths that only occur with huge fanfare and drama leading up to the death. That's why we have this dilemma where all tv series place the death of important characters at the season finale, making it wholly predictable and thus lame.
Guess what's still the most shocking, impactful death in fiction to me? Kuririn's first death, during the original Dragon Ball. The heroes just had finished the tournament successfully, everyone's happy and going to party with a feast. Goku remembers that he forgot some (his dragon ball iirc), but Kuririn's like 'im gonna get it for you, you go enjoy the food, goku!'. And then ... nothing. Suddenly, Goku got a bad feeling. He runs back to where his stuff ought to be, and there it is: Kuririn lying on the ground. Goku goes up to him, then with audible, visible shock says: 'Kuririn is dead ...'.
I still get sad goosebumps when i remember that scene. An off-screen death of a major character. And it was like a punch to the gut. And because the writing was so good, it also lead directly into the next major arc.
I wished more deaths in fiction would ve handled that way. The sensationalist, dramstic death is just theatre. The casual death on the side? That's the kind of death that feels real and threatening.