Jul 2019
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Jul 2019
Jul 2019
ar-ninetysix
Jul '19

Short answer, yes. It really depends on what you're going for here though.

Like really think it through, what changes after said character dies? There needs to be a lasting effect on the characters and events affected by the death of this character just like with any other. And that's just in order to have it make sense within the context of the story. The delivery of this death matters too, whether it's a heroic death, a cowardly one, an anti-climactic one, it changes what the narrative of that character's life becomes and it also changes how your readers might handle it.

silverraven0
Jul '19
Summary

there was a trilogy about a Zombie Apocalypse (that I actually forgot the title) where the MC dies. The execution was very good that it didn't even matter that the next two books were thrown on the brother's shoulder (no I don't say this sarcastically. The books were really good).

Darkstrong
Jul '19
1

Yes, definitely, absolutely. The best example that comes to mind is TTGL. Where spoiler alert Kamina (one of two MC) is killed 1/4 into the story. There are other examples, of course. There are even examples where, I think, the story would've only benefited if the MC was killed. I think that Attack on Titan would work out better if Eren actually died at the defence of Trost, and the narrative was shifted to Armin, for example.

yurineseventeen
Jul '19

if everything was done perfect, and it was necessary to the plot, and the character taking over was good, as you say, then yes it is absolutely possible to kill your main character.

I can give you a few examples of good manga in which the main character was killed/dead (but idk if you read manga or not): Death Note (MC dies at the end), Gantz, Yu Yu Hakusho (in both manga MC dies at the beginning)

It depends on the timing and how you bring your story afterwards. If you decide to make your MC die early, make sure the readers can still see their significance throughout the series, because if not, well, what is the point of being an MC? :wink:

tyler9721111
Jul '19
silverraven0

Funny thing my story is pretty much a zombie apocalypse except all the zombies are sentient and are completely how they were before they died. The only difference is they must eat human flesh to survive.

Darkstrong
Jul '19

Also a good study on killing MCs mid-story is a little obscure series written by one JRR Martin called "The Song of Ice and Fire".

ChitaIn the making of Bunneh The Rabbit
Jul '19

Well, one of my fave books when I was a teen killed the MC 1/3 into the story. The plot goes on with her as a ghost, but the author does it in a really good way.

ar-ninetysix
Jul '19

Ah! That's the other thing. Is it like full on death, or would they be coming back in a different form like a talking zombie or a ghost?

Iris-Grimoire
Jul '19

It can work, but it's all about the excecution. Make the real MC too obvious and the death is just like any other; put too much emphasis on the protagonist-ness of the MC set to die and it'll feel like a cheap shot for surprises. How the characters react for sure changes a lot as well - do we go from a cheerful perspective to a cynical one? A hotheaded leader to someone who takes things slow and listens to others? Are they all feeling an empty part of the group as the one with the most focus is gone in some way? It's got to impact the cast as much as the reader but not in a way that's too forced.

WriterLinXiaolong
Jul '19

Well... I killed my main character on the very first episode... But its a transmigration story so even though he died in his world, his soul was transferred over to another world. So technically, he did not die?

For me, MC are the focal point of your story. As long as they are present, whether as living being, undead or spirits, the story can still go on. If that happens, then you can go as you like! There can only be one MC in a story (at least for me). The rest can be the leads, but never the MC :laughing:

Another case where I kill my MC is at the end of the story to open a new chapter for the younger ones. That means, his story is over and no matter what happens in the future in that world have nothing to do with the MC.

So with that in mind, I believe you can pull it off! It's not impossible so just go for it!

ratscout
Jul '19

Anything can work in a story, it just depends on how it's done! I read this fantasy book where the main character got killed and his sister became the main character and I was sincerely shocked by the twist in a good way. To this day I remember the sequence in the book pretty clearly and the shock attached to it! I'd say go for it if it makes sense for your story. :thumbsup: Just make sure it has the impact you're intending by giving the main character plenty of development!

BlueWorldComics
Jul '19

Anything CAN work if you make it work. Unless you have thousands of fans, you won't have to worry too much about causing an uproar, so tell the story you want to tell.

It can easily be done badly, but all that means is you're losing readers because you're not writing a good story, NOT because you killed your MC.

As far as execution goes, make sure you properly build up whoever their replacement is. Erik Larsen successfully killed off his character, Savage Dragon, replacing him with his son, Malcolm. Readers grew up with the boy, so by the time he took over, he was an established mainstay.

Also avoid killing them off in a really dumb way. Make sure the death has weight and makes sense to the plot. If you're MC wins all the time, they shouldn't just suddenly lose and die out of nowhere. Explain it.

And lastly, try not to be cliché. Your MC sacrificing them self for someone else is kinda played out... I mean, you can still do it if your find a way to do it that hasn't been done before, but try and make sure we can't see it coming, otherwise it could turn your story into an eye roller.

DiegoPalacios
Jul '19

Is up to execution.

Passing the MC mantle to another character can work wonders if the supporting main cast and the new MC are interesting on their own, and if the death scene is really well done. This can be a mind blowing plot twist that can make readers question the existance of plot armor, so use it wisely.

Make sure the successor has some differences with the previous protagonist. If their personalities are the same, the death will feel redundant.

Maps
Jul '19
1

I created a story where one of my MCs was going to die, but as I continued to write I realized it’s probably wouldn’t work. I still like the idea of killing off an MC as long as it brings something to the story, rather than takes away.
I always think of the Ned Stark death in GOT. He was the main and they killed him off, but it worked.

LT1986
Jul '19

I think it can work. It is a sign of creativity and a challenge. I just uploaded a page of two of my main characters being murdered after 100+ pages of them in the series. They were in the series since the first upload, which is the saga 1.1 title page.

baasinsimple
Jul '19

Yes. Of course, if it couldn't work then the entire concept of JoJo's bizarre adventure wouldn't work, neither would the Song of Ice and Fire books (game of thrones) or Vikings, but it all depends.
Eddard Stark's death worked because there were plenty of plot-lines because of it, or left over. There are plenty things completely altered or at least slightly affected by Eddard's death, but it's almost always a small step, even later on or indirectly Daenerys's or Jon Snow's plot line is altered slightly, but the entire momentum of the legitimate Stark family's life is changed. Vikings did the same thing,
JoJo did something different, there was no plot-points to continue after Jonathan Joestar's death, So Araki introduce the theme of Legacy, creating one of the best manga of all time.

Wumbl
Jul '19

It can absolutely work, if you're going for a particular effect.

If you need to shift perspective to somebody else, it's a nice dramatic way of doing that. If you need to end the story on a morbid note, it's a pretty common method of doing that. If you want a sad ending, sometimes this is the way to do that, too.

It's not really as controversial as some might think, because it's been done plenty of times. It's not even that unusual to do it before the end.

Just look at Pulp Fiction. It has multiple protagonists that it follows the point-of-view of, and one of them, Vincent, straight up dies after not listening to his partner's advice. It serves the story, because the encounter motivates another protagonist to mobilise. It also provides a moral about recklessness which is a running theme in the film.

Hell, there are films where we open with a flash-forward of the protagonist about to die. There are stories where there are multiple protagonists who are in conflict with each other and one dies in the process. (I'm The King Of The Castle, for example... or even visual novels like Detroit: Become Human where Markus and Connor are on opposing sides and if you go for a violent conflict one will die)

Killing a protagonist is a really useful tool. It can work, it does work and nobody's ever considered it to be outlandish.