History Main / OnlyTheLeadsGetAHappyEnding

* {{Deconstruct|ionFic}}d in ''Blog/AskTheNewHopesPeak'', where Munakata has been left deeply embittered and resentful after the events of ''Anime/DanganRonpa3'', becoming ''even more'' of a {{Jerkass}}. After all, all of ''his'' loved ones wound up with a bad case of dead, while Makoto and ''his'' friends wound up much happier.

* The ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Little Mermaid]]'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13935306/1/Poor-Twisted-Soul Poor Twisted Soul]]'' walks the line of this trope as the lead in question is only the lead for the final chapter. However, it otherwise plays this trope extremely strait. Basically, instead of turning her human, Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to give her a potion to make it so she won't feel guilty for doing whatever she wants. When Ariel drinks it, all kindness is removed from her heart and she is turned into a Cecelia like Ursula. Afterward Ariel, having had all her positive aspects removed, goes along with Ursula's plan to overthrow King Triton. However, as Ariel predicted Ursula would betray her, she takes the trident for herself, kills Ursula, Triton, Sebastian, and Flounder, and transforms her sisters into mindless carnivorous monsters. The final chapter cuts to sometime later where Ariel has succeeded in taking over Atlantica, having killed everyone who revolted against her. However one family who defied her escape to Ursula's old home to turn human to escape Ariel. Unfortunately, there is only enough for one, so the two parents give the potion to their daughter Jobi, who escapes to the surface just before Ariel catches and kills them as well. This leaves Atlantica pretty much doomed, as no one is left to stop Ariel's now fully in control SuperpoweredEvilSide and any survivors must now follow her law to the letter or die. Jobi, however, is found and cared for by Prince Eric, and after two years, the pair wed and become king and queen where Jobi is a UniversallyBelovedLeader.

* ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'': Baloo is declared the heir to a rich family and inherits their fortune. The reason he is the sole heir is that all the others were killed by the cook and the butler in a scheme to inherit the fortune, but all their attempts on Baloo's life fail and the cook and the butler are arrested. So all live happily...except for the rest of the family members, who were murdered.

See also WhatHappenedToTheMouse, where minor characters are forgotten about entirely. Contrast WinWinEnding where ''everyone'' gets a happy ending.

* Depending on your perspective, it's either inverted, averted or played straight in ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}''. The pilots' home universe survives, but all of them die, [[SparedByTheAdaptation except for Kana and Seki in the anime]]. It's also discussed when Kirie talks with Tanaka about how it bothers him that people can consider a movie as having a happy ending if many unnamed characters suffer but the hero gets a happy ending, and he seems to consider such stories as having {{Esoteric Happy Ending}}s unless the hero acknowledges the suffering of others.
* {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''Anime/CodeGeass'', where [[TheHeroDies Lelouch vi Britannia]] [[ThanatosGambit orchestrates his own assassination]]. Suzaku Kururugi, who [[FakingTheDead fakes his own death]] to forever take on the identity of [[MyHeroZero Zero]], is the one to kill Lelouch and must now forever remain LonelyAtTheTop. The surviving main characters move on with their lives; Kallen Kozuki gets to finish school without having to hide her identity, Kaname Ohgi and Villetta Nu have BabiesEverAfter (and probably both go back to teaching school after Ohgi's term as prime minister), Shinichiro Tamaki opens a bar, and Empress Nunnally vi Britannia, Chairman Kaguya Sumeragi, and Empress Tianzi Lihua rule over a peaceful world. And C.C. rides off in a cart to who-knows-where... [[BrokenBase and no]], [[{{Jossed}} Lelouch wasn't driving it.]]
** The compilation movie continuity -- specifically the aptly-named ''Lelouch of the Re;surrection'' -- double-subvert this in Lelouch's case, [[BackFromTheDead as C.C. brings him back from the dead]], and the now immortal Lelouch joins C.C. in WalkingTheEarth.

* ''{{Inverted|Trope}}'' in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans''. The main members of [[LaResistance Tekkadan]] (Mikazuki, Orga, Akihiro and Shino) all die one-by-one in the final episodes, but everyone else still alive (and [[TheBadGuyWins that includes]] [[BigBad Rustal Elion]] and his entourage, [[TheDragon Julieta Juris]]) get happy endings. Kudelia gets elected leader of a newly independent Mars, Eugene and Chad survive the final battle and become her aides, most of the other surviving Tekkadan members all get jobs at the repair shop Nadi and Merribit open up, Atra becomes a farmer and raises her new child with Kudelia, Azee sets up a new Teiwaz subsidiary with the surviving Turbines, and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Rustal]] uses his new position as the undisputed leader of Gjallarhorn to enact some reforms, including signing a treaty banning the use of [[ChildSoldiers Human Debris]], while setting Julieta up to be his successor.

* More or less inverted in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''. While humanity progresses and moves forward, the protagonists take big hits. The supporting section of the group survives but must deal with the deaths of the gunman pilots (especially the Black sisters with Kittan's death and Leyte and her children with Makken). They do rescue Nia, only for her to die a week later, after her marriage with Simon. Simon ends up WalkingTheEarth with Boota and Yoko returns to her isolated life as a teacher and later principal. Considering the overall messages, this is pretty jarring.
** The movies aren't as bad. While Kittan still dies, the other pilots still live. Nia's death still occurs and Simon's and Yoko's fates are still the same, if not played out mildly more optimistically.

* {{Inverted|Trope}} in ''ComicBook/BlackScience'', where everybody ''except'' the lead characters [[EarnYourHappyEnding earn their happy ending]]; the Multiverse is restored to health, everybody who died is revived, the bad guys are defeated, all of the supporting cast gets to ride off into the proverbial sunset, and Earth becomes a peaceful utopia where almost everyone is happy... but the StableTimeLoop that makes this possible ''requires'' that the central-most cast (the [=McKays=], Kadir, and Chandra) all meet a horrible end that [[ShootTheShaggyDogStory render their struggles pointless]]; the Kids and Chandra die, Kadir goes completely insane, and Grant and Sara go back in time to try and get their children back, becoming the evil alternates of themselves that [[ChekhovsGunman appeared back near the start of the series]] and are obviously DoomedByCanon.

* Inverted in ''ComicBook/RunawaysRainbowRowell'', where the only Runaway who is guaranteed a happy ending is Klara, who quit the team prior to the beginning of the series and got adopted into a loving family. Meanwhile, her former teammates are stuck dealing with the ramifications of their various previously-dead members all being resurrected, which has included the rise of a new generation of the Gibborim and the activation of Victorious, Gert's future mortal nemesis.

* Completely inverted in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', where a TimeSkip reveals a ''world'' which is brighter and kinder than is usual for the series, and lead characters who've all but fallen apart. The long-enslaved Hork-Bajir are free and living in Yellowstone, the Yeerks and Taxxons have escaped their bodies and live in other forms, there is peace and trade between humans and Andalites. Eva, Alloran, and other hosts get to live free. But Rachel is dead, Jake is mired in depression and self-hatred, Tobias lives as a hawk in isolation, Ax has gone BloodKnight and recklessly pursues trouble, and Marco keeps himself busy and claims happiness but jumps to throw it all away for a suicide mission. Cassie calls herself and Marco the "only two survivors" among the Animorphs, but she's the only one who's managed to move on and make a new life and find love. The last several books in the series feature these characters looking at their options and choosing again and again to work for that world above their own personal interests, so perhaps it's not surprising.

* ''Series/TwentyFour'' frequently inverts the trope by having Jack Bauer save the day while refusing to grant him a measure of peace. Day 1 ends with the murder of his wife and ''[[Series/TwentyFourLiveAnotherDay Live Another Day]]'' ends with him surrendering himself to the Russians. He loses another three significant women in his life along the way.

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': Sin is destroyed and the people of Spira are finally freed from the cycle of death and suffering that had dominated their lives for a thousand years, but Tidus fades away into nothingness as the power of the spirits who created him vanishes, leaving his friends saddened and his {{Love Interest|s}} Yuna heartbroken. However, this can be subverted in the sequel if you get the GoldenEnding, in which he returns after all.

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' inverts this trope. [[PlayerCharacter Arthur Morgan]] [[TheHeroDies dies]]. John Marston is able to settle down with his family, but anyone who played [[VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption the first game]] knows [[DoomedByCanon it won't last long]]. Meanwhile, though some gang members like Strauss and Karen come to bad endings, some of the others are able to move on and lead successful lives.
** Namely: [[CampCook Pearson]] ends up getting married and owning the general shop in Rhodes. [[BrainyBrunette Mary-Beth]] moves away and becomes a writer of some repute. [[BadassNative Charles]] leaves the gang to seek a new life in Canada as a family man. [[DeadpanSnarker Tilly]] marries a lawyer in Saint Denis and lives in a beautiful estate house with him and their daughter. [[TheAlcoholic Swanson]] drops his drinking habit and moves to New York where he becomes a preacher. And [[DarkActionGirl Sadie]] cools down her AxCrazy tendencies and moves to South America in search of a quiet life.

* ''VideoGame/SeraphicBlue'' inverts this. Vene, the main party member, is still struggling with nihilism and barely survives a rare disease in the ending while the other party members seem to have found far more peace of mind.

* ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'': Inverted in "[[Recap/CourageTheCowardlyDogS2E14TheMagicTreeOfNowhereRobotRandy Robot Randy]]". Randy learns to use his gifts to make people like him. But in doing so, Courage, Muriel, and Eustace's home is completely destroyed and all they are left with are Randy's wooden Reindeer, merely as a token of their friendship. [[JerkassHasAPoint Eustace even lampshades how much they were screwed over in the end]]:
--> '''Eustace''': Great! Now we can rebuild the farmhouse with these stupid reindeer!

* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/CatsDontDance'', Danny and the other prominent animals succeed in becoming Hollywood stars. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for all the ''other'' animals who were also thrown out due to the studio flood, and were last seen standing in line for warmth at a barrel fire. Granted, the success of Danny and the others does open the door for other animals to become stars, [[RayOfHopeEnding so there's still a chance they'll make it]].

---> '''Brian''': Well, it's a relief that everyone's been vaccinated, and the quarantine has been lifted.\\

--->'''Peter''': I guess being a hero isn't always about saving lives. Sometimes it's just about caring for the people you love.\\
'''Random Woman''': Help! Someone just stole my purse!\\
'''Peter''': Who cares? I don't even know you!

--->'''Brian''': Well, it's a relief that everyone's been vaccinated, and the quarantine has been lifted.\\
'''Lois''': Well, I'm just happy that Stewie is healthy, and only 150 people died, but not anyone we knew personally.

-->'''Leela:''' So that moon hillbilly who got murdered was just an innocent husband and father!\\

* {{Discussed|Trope}} in ''Fanfic/DemonInFodlan'' after Goetia reads one of Flayn's erotic romance novels, which ends with the protagonist chooses to leave his title and prestige behind in order to run away with his lover. While [[TheIdealist Flayn]] sees this as a happy ending where love triumphed over all, Goetia points out that her protagonist abandoned his duties in the process, leaving all of the citizens in the territory he was meant to be responsible for facing [[UncertainDoom an uncertain future]].

* At the end of the second season première of ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', Frank very conspicuously says "The important thing is that nobody ''important'' got ''seriously'' hurt'' after the gang got in a car accident. The camera then pans over to an unnamed character who was with the group at the time lying in a full body cast in a hospital bed calling them jerks.

* This sort-of happens in ''Series/RobinHood''. Both Robin Hood and Marian end up ''dead'', but they are given a TogetherInDeath scene that suggests that they have an eternity in Heaven to share. Everyone else? Shot, [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice stabbed]], [[DroppedABridgeOnHim dead]], buried, [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome abandoned]], [[ForgottenFallenFriend forgotten]], or stuck with [[DamselScrappy Ka]][[FateWorseThanDeath te]].
* In ''Series/{{Salem}}'' the OfficialCouple (John and Mary) get to leave the township for a better life together, whilst every other main cast member has either been murdered (Mercy), sold into slavery (Tituba), damned to hell (Cotton), corrupted beyond recognition (Anne), or not mentioned at all (Isaac).

* Creator/AgathaChristie's theatre adaptation of her own novel ''Literature/AndThenThereWereNone'' has Vera and Lombard, the closest people the story has in the role of the protagonist, survive the murder spree and escape the island.
* Zig-zagged in ''Theatre/LesMiserables''. By the end of the show, most of the main characters are dead, including the lead, Jean Valjean. However, most of them (barring Javert) are living happily in heaven, which in the film version is portrayed as is an idealized version of Paris where their dreams have been realized. Likewise, in the ''real'' Paris, the poor are still as downtrodden and oppressed as before. Of the four main characters who do survive the show, the despicable Thénardiers [[KarmaHoudini get away with all their crimes scot-free]], while Marius and Cosette are HappilyMarried but probably [[HeroicBSOD scarred for life after witnessing the deaths of various friends and family]].

* In ''VideoGame/TheSecretOfMonkeyIsland'', if you sink your ship with the catapultic rock thing, Herman Toothrot will take you back to Melee island instead of your crew, and in the ending you'll get a nice sequence about how they're trapped in the cannibal hut. ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'' also treats this as canon and plays the trauma for laughs.
* ''VideoGame/StarOcean'' and ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheSecondStory'' both have MultipleEndings based on hidden relationship meters between the characters, the Main Characters, of course, get their happy ending no matter what, but... for those who have bad scores the endings can edge on {{Tear Jerker}}s.
* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'':
** Inverted for a non-human noble female Warden who was in a relationship with Alistair and didn't harden him, or for a male Warden who was in a relationship with Morrigan. Everyone '''but''' the leads (in your party anyway) gets a happy ending.
** A male Warden who romanced Morrigan has the opportunity to [[EsotericHappyEnding disappear with her into the Eluvian]] in the DLC ''Witch Hunt'', and a female Human Noble who romanced and didn't harden Alistair can marry him at the Landsmeet and accept Morrigan's ritual, meaning they do get a happy ending... [[GooGooGodLike for]] [[SequelHook now]].
** [[SchrodingersPlayerCharacter Among all potential Grey Warden]] {{Player Character}}s, only the ''main'' Human Noble can get an unambiguously happy ending. They don't deal with deeply ingrained and inescapable societal racism like most other Wardens (mage, elf, casteless dwarf), and unlike the dwarf noble they're allowed to kill the traitorous bastard who destroyed their family without consequence. The Human Noble is also the only Warden allowed to marry Alistair or Anora and become King or Queen. Even the Dwarf Noble is not allowed to marry the Ferelden monarch because of their race, OR clear their name and become King/Queen of Orzammar. A Dwarf Commoner can also get an unambiguously good ending if they made Bhelen king, becoming a Paragon and noble in their own right and also in-laws with the king who reforms the oppressive caste system.
* Appears in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' in the Templar ending, where Kirkwall has been devastated, Thedas is rapidly approaching its first world war, and the entire band of heroes has been split up...except for Hawke and his/her {{Love Interest|s}}. If you side with the mages you end up fleeing your home. [[BookEnds Again.]] Even in the Templar ending it's clear from the framing scenes that Hawke had to flee the city anyway; that they can't be found in the "present" is one of the first things you learn about them..
* The best ending of ''VideoGame/ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume'' has Wylfred finally find peace, his mother regain her sanity, and Tilte learning about Ancel's death and being able to grieve him properly instead of just sensing that something's plain wrong. The rest of the cast, however, don't get featured at all in the ending and most of the characters that don't you meet but don't recruit get rather depressing ends. It doesn't help that the two other endings are {{Downer Ending}}s.
* Downplayed in ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords''. The Exile's team goes off to found the new Jedi Order, fix the damaged Republic, and shut down the HK-50's while she is condemned to flying off to die at the hands of the True Sith. It's implied in The Old Republic MMO that she did manage to do enough to set back the invasion for almost 300 years, but she still misses out on the opportunity to see all of her actions come to fruition or pursue a relationship with Atton or the Disciple.

* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'': Hooray, the two leads have finally found each other and reunited with the rest of the party, after killing Deus and freeing everyone from its control, making them able to lead their own lives! Unfortunately, "everyone" doesn't include the approximately 95% of the human race who either got turned into mutants and absorbed into Deus or straight-up killed.

* ''VideoGame/ToTheMoon'' gives a "happy ending" in the form of a DyingDream to the main character Johnny, in which he re-lives another version of his life in which his twin brother, Joey, never died and where he travels to the Moon with his soulmate River, but there's the fact that this never happened in reality, and that the real world counterparts died after suffering great pain for years.
* This may happen in ''VideoGame/StarControl2'' depending on how well you do. It's possible to win the game with every single planet except Earth wiped out.
* In ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'', not only do only the leads get a happy ending, but only one dimension's version of the leads gets a happy ending. They do not succeed in stopping the end of the world. They only succeeded in transferring themselves into the consciousnesses of themselves in a dimension where the plague that causes the apocalypse never happens. The other versions of themselves die in other dimensions or watch helplessly as humanity is brought to its knees, and the people in the dimension the leads end up in weren't "saved" since they were never in any danger in the first place.
* ''VideoGame/SeraphicBlue'' inverts this. Vene, the main party member, is still struggling with nihilism and barely survives a rare disease in the ending while the other party members seem to have found far more peace of mind.

* ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'''s CentralTheme is that a hero has to choose who he wants to save, and illustrates it during its three main scenarios. In each scenario Shirou gets a little more selective and selfish about who he chooses to save, giving the main characters a bit more self-realization but also increasing the collateral damage to the city and its inhabitants. In ''Fate'', the trope is inverted as Shirou gives up his own happiness and is (potentially) set down a very self-destructive path, but no innocent people die. Meanwhile, in ''Heaven's Feel'', the main human characters get a happy ending while several hundred innocents die (off-screen) during the scenario.

* The Neutral Endings of ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''. Frisk returns to the surface, but the Underground is in shambles, and depending on how murderous the player was, any number of innocents could be dead. The Pacifist Ending is a straight happy ending, and the Genocide Ending an unambiguous DownerEnding for all involved.
* The Evil ending of ''VideoGame/TheBardsTale'' [[PlayedForLaughs plays this for laughs]]. The Bard frees the Princess from the Druids, but it turns out that she's a ''[[SealedEvilInACan demon]]'' princess and the cause of the ongoing ZombieApocalypse. She marries The Bard and they live happily ever after, fulfilling her promises of wealth, power, and lots of sex while the rest of the world gets overrun by her zombie armies.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H10im8i-SMw MarshSMT's playthrough]] of ''VideoGame/PeretEmHeruForThePrisoners'' ended up in a downplayed case of this: Ayuto, Kyosuke, Nei and Yoko, the only pre-established friend group in the game, all survive the experience and are last described as "heading off to enjoy the rest of their vacation under the clear blue sky". Every stranger in the tour group that Ayuto didn't personally know (with the sole exception of [[ImprobableInfantSurvival Rin]]) [[AnyoneCanDie wound up dead]].

'''Uno:''' ''*(sobbing)*''\\

'''Uno:''' ''*(sobbing)*'' ... sure ...

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': Done several times where the main characters resolve their issues while the city gets destroyed in the background. One episode has Fry and Leela making up after Fry puts a humiliating video of her on the Internet, meanwhile all of Bender's and Fry's Twitcher subscribers get brainwashed by M.O.M.. Thankfully, they're brainwashed into buying more of her products. Another has Bender being saved from execution by going on a murderous rampage with Santa Claus. (ItMakesSenseInContext.) In yet another, Bender goes into witness protection after angering the Robot Mafia, and an identical robot his friends assume to be him is targeted and killed in his place, prompting this exchange when the real Bender reveals himself:
-->'''Leela:''' So that moon hillbilly who got murdered was just an innocent husband and father!\\
''({{Beat}}, then [[ComedicSociopathy everyone cheers]].)''
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'' ends with the protagonists [[TheMagicGoesAway destroying magic]] to neutralize the threat of Mina's army of Solarians (and future abuses of magic), even if it will leave Star, Marco, and others stuck in their respective dimensions of TheMultiverse. Then, Earth, Mewni, and possibly all other dimensions become one MergedReality for an unexplained reason, letting Star and Marco stay together, but drastically altering both worlds in ways that will be difficult to adjust to, especially for all of the people (mostly on Earth) who ''aren't'' already familiar with other dimensions. Also with no magic, all beings that were made of magic were erased from existence, including the entire Magic High Commission, and who knows how many others.

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[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/{{Pinocchio}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pinocchio_ending.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[WhatHappenedToTheMouse So, what do we do about those donkeys?\\
Someone has to free them somehow.]]]]

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* ''Inverted'' in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans''. The main members of [[LaResistance Tekkadan]] (Mikazuki, Orga, Akihiro and Shino) all die one-by-one in the final episodes, but everyone else still alive (and [[TheBadGuyWins that includes]] [[BigBad Rustal Elion]] and his entourage, [[TheDragon Julieta Juris]]) get happy endings. Kudelia gets elected leader of a newly independent Mars, Eugene and Chad survive the final battle and become her aides, most of the other surviving Tekkadan members all get jobs at the repair shop Nadi and Merribit open up, Atra becomes a farmer and raises her new child with Kudelia, Azee sets up a new Teiwaz subsidiary with the surviving Turbines, and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Rustal]] uses his new position as the undisputed leader of Gjallarhorn to enact some reforms, including signing a treaty banning the use of [[ChildSoldiers Human Debris]], while setting Julieta up to be his successor.
* ''Anime/GoLion'', with all the death and destruction, and Princess Amue losing her love in a SenselessSacrifice.
* Inverted in ''Anime/CodeGeass'', where [[TheHeroDies Lelouch vi Britannia]] [[ThanatosGambit orchestrates his own assassination]]. Suzaku Kururugi, who [[FakingTheDead fakes his own death]] to forever take on the identity of [[MyHeroZero Zero]], is the one to kill Lelouch and must now forever remain LonelyAtTheTop. The surviving main characters move on with their lives; Kallen Kozuki gets to finish school without having to hide her identity, Kaname Ohgi and Villetta Nu have BabiesEverAfter (and probably both go back to teaching school after Ohgi's term as prime minister), Shinichiro Tamaki opens a bar, and Empress Nunnally vi Britannia, Chairman Kaguya Sumeragi, and Empress Tianzi Lihua rule over a peaceful world. And C.C. rides off in a cart to who-knows-where... [[BrokenBase and no]], [[{{Jossed}} Lelouch wasn't driving it.]]

* The ''Manga/ElfenLied'' anime ends with [[BigBad the director]] of the facility laughing hysterically and the fate of the other diclonius isn't made clear. However, Kouta, Yuka, Mayu, and Nana all survive to the end and there is a chance that Lucy may have survived also.
* Depending on your perspective, it's either inverted, averted or played straight in ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}''. The pilots' home universe survives, but all of them die, [[SparedByTheAdaptation except for Kana and Seki in the anime]]. It's also discussed when Kirie talks with Tanaka about how it bothers him that people can consider a movie as having a happy ending if many unnamed characters suffer but the hero gets a happy ending, and he seems to consider such stories as having [[EsotericHappyEnding Esoteric Happy Endings]] unless the hero acknowledges the suffering of others.
* More or less inverted in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''. While humanity progresses and moves forward, the protagonists take big hits. The supporting section of the group survives but must deal with the deaths of the gunman pilots (especially the Black sisters with Kittan's death and Leyte and her children with Makken). They do rescue Nia, only for her to die a week later, after her marriage with Simon. Simon ends up WalkingTheEarth with Boota and Yoko returns to her isolated life as a teacher and later principal. Considering the overall messages, this is pretty jarring.
** The movies aren't as bad. While Kittan still dies, the other pilots still live. Nia's death still occurs and Simon's and Yoko's fates are still the same, if not played out mildly more optimistically.
* At the end of Episode: Hope of ''Anime/DanganRonpa3'', Makoto and the survivors of class 78's killing game (plus Komaru) all survive the final killing game, and restart Hope's Peak Academy. Meanwhile, the former Remnants of Despair, while all alive and cured of the effects of Junko's Brainwashing Despair Video, are unlikely to be able to return to society ever again, due to their actions as Junko's lackeys and the fact that they helped to cover up the Final Killing Game, and due to the fact that Mitarai is now associating himself with them, he's in the same boat. Literally. Meanwhile, Munakata's off to do who knows what all alone, with the knowledge that the woman he loved was a member of the movement he hated so much, and that his best friend's death is partially his fault. And everyone else is dead.
* The "Military Uniform Princess" Altair of ''Anime/ReCreators'' is pretty unusual because she's both the BigBad and an InUniverse invocation of this trope, meaning it's also a case of TheBadGuyWins. The titular Creators bring back her own Creator as a fictional character and have the two talk out her SuicidalCosmicTemperTantrum that is impossible to stop otherwise because she has become an in-universe VillainSue, and they both walk away into the sunset as the only couple of people [[BittersweetEnding unambiguously happy and untraumatized]] from the CurbStompBattle ''massacre'' that was the [[CrisisCrossover Elimination Chamber Festival]].

* Inverted in ''ComicBook/RunawaysRainbowRowell'', where the only Runaway who is guaranteed a happy ending is Klara, who quit the team prior to the beginning of the series and got adopted into a loving family. Meanwhile, her former teammates are stuck dealing with the ramifications of their various previously-dead members all being resurrected, which has included the rise of a new generation of the Gibborim and the activation of Victorious, Gert's future mortal nemesis.
* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in ''ComicBook/BlackScience'', where everybody ''except'' the lead characters [[EarnYourHappyEnding earn their happy ending]]; the Multiverse is restored to health, everybody who died is revived, the bad guys are defeated, all of the supporting cast gets to ride off into the proverbial sunset, and Earth becomes a peaceful utopia where almost everyone is happy... but the StableTimeLoop that makes this possible ''requires'' that the central-most cast (the [=McKays=], Kadir, and Chandra) all meet a horrible end that [[ShootTheShaggyDogStory render their struggles pointless]]; the Kids and Chandra die, Kadir goes completely insane, and Grant and Sara go back in time to try and get their children back, becoming the evil alternates of themselves that [[ChekhovsGunman appeared back near the start of the series]] and are obviously DoomedByCanon.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' fic ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/11860936/1/Betrayed Betrayed]]'' has two mutually exclusive endings, one of which plays this straight (for a given value of “only the leads”) and the other inverts it. In the first ending, Chara and Asriel are both brought back to life and reensouled, and Frisk and Chara have gotten together as a couple and redeemed themselves after the events of the Soulless Pacifist Ending, bringing everyone else that Chara had killed before her ensoulment back as well, and stopped [[TheManBehindTheMan Gaster’s]] scheme to become the god of all timelines and RetGone the Frisks of all possible worlds, but the inhabitants of Ebott Village were all killed [[DeaderThanDead beyond all hope of revival]] and [[ExpendableAlternateUniverse all the other Neutral and Soulless Pacifist timelines are as bad off as they were before]], all of which we see were worse off than the story’s main timeline from the beginning. It’s implied that none of this would have happened if Frisk had refrained from the Genocide Route at the beginning and just accepted that Chara was stuck as a disembodied spirit. In the second ending, all of the above is still true, but all of the other characters (except Toriel, Asgore, and Asriel) tell Frisk and Chara that they can never forgive their actions, and that the devastation was all their fault, and that they deserve to never be happy again. Frisk and Chara agree with them and commit suicide under Mount Ebott together.
* The ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Little Mermaid]]'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13935306/1/Poor-Twisted-Soul Poor Twisted Soul]]'' walks the line of this trope as the lead in question is only the lead for the final chapter. However, it otherwise plays this trope extremely strait. Basically, instead of turning her human, Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to give her a potion to make it so she won't feel guilty for doing what ever she wants. When Ariel drinks it, all kindness is removed from her heart and she is turned into a Cecelia (that is what Ursula is). Afterward, Ariel, having had all her positive aspects removed, goes along with Ursula's plan to overthrow King Triton. However, as Ariel predicted Ursula would betray her, she takes the trident for herself, kills Ursula, Triton, Sebastian, and Flounder, and transforms her sisters into mindless carnivorous monsters. The final chapter cuts to sometime later where Ariel has succeeded in taking over Atlantica, having killed everyone who revolted against her. However one family who defied her escape to Ursula's old home to turn human to escape Ariel. Unfortunately, there is only enough for one, so the two parents give the potion to their daughter Jobi, who escapes to the surface just before Ariel catches and kills them as well. This leaves Atlantica pretty much doomed, as no one is left to stop Ariel's now fully in control SuperpoweredEvilSide and any survivors must now follow her law to the letter or die. Jobi, however, is found and cared for by Prince Eric, and after two years, the pair wed and become king and queen where Jobi is a UniversallyBelovedLeader.

* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/CatsDontDance'', Danny and the other prominent animals succeed in becoming Hollywood stars. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for all the ''other'' animals who were also thrown out due to the studio flood, and were last seen standing in line for warmth at a barrel fire. Granted, the success of Danny and the others does open the door for other animals to become stars, [[RayOfHopeEnding so there's still a chance they'll make it.]]

* ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'': Tony heads to the big city to dance on Broadway and gets the girl, but the other one was treated like dirt, raped, and then forgotten about. And let's just forget Tony's friend Bobby C, who falls (whether accidentally or [[DrivenToSuicide on purpose]]) off the Verrazanno-Narrows Bridge during an act of depressed recklessness.
* The 1998 movie version of ''Film/{{Les Miserables|1998}}'' ended the story before Jean Valjean dies, making it a happy ending as long as you're Jean Valjean, Marius, or Cosette and not any of the rest of the revolutionaries, who all died on the barricades.
* ''Literature/TheRing'': Rachel and Aiden make a copy of the cursed videotape, thus passing on the evil. Someone else will certainly watch the video and die, but it's OK because the main characters are safe! Then again, it's a ''horror'' movie. The only way to survive is to doom other people, and the only way to get out of the movie alive is to harden yourself to that. (Note that in the original, the person being set up to die is ''the lead's father''.)
* The end of ''Film/{{The Birth of a Nation|1915}}'', with the main characters HappilyMarried and the Klan firmly in control of the South, is this, with '''heavy''' ValuesDissonance.
* Invoked and ultimately subverted in ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan''; the members of the squad who are [[TitleDrop Saving Private Ryan]] discuss and express discontent over the fact that their lives are being risked to save the life of one man who, from their frame of reference, is no more important than they. Subverted in that, while James Ryan is saved at the expense of nearly every man in the squad, he is left with a mere [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet ending]] as a result of this, being stuck with [[SurvivorsGuilt survivor's guilt]] for the rest of his life due to his saviors' deaths.

* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'': Jake Sully and his alien catgirlfriend Neytiri get to live happily ever after. The last two humans on the planet (both friends of Jake's, remember) are likely going to starve or suffocate soon, and there's the fact that thousands of Na'vi are now dead (including Neytiri's father and former boyfriend), but at least the love-birds are together, right?
** Not to mention what will happen in a few years when the RDA returns, this time with modern weapons and a real army...
* ''Film/TheMist'' is an inversion: humanity has turned the tide against the titular mist with the aid of its military and looks to be making good progress in driving it back, which is precisely what makes the fate of the main character so utterly cruel, [[GaveUpTooSoon as he had just killed his family under the belief that there was no hope and that doing so was a mercy]].

* ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve'': The main characters and several thousand others survive - the entire rest of the world (except, it's revealed, Africa) drowned.
* ''Film/{{Knowing}}'' actually one-ups the above. Aliens save [[AdamAndEvePlot two children]] (not the leads, but significant characters) and transport them to another planet before a solar flare wipes out every living creature on Earth.
* In the FilmOfTheBook of ''Literature/WarHorse'', only Joey and Albert (and his family as well) get a happy ending. The other characters die or are left with nothing to live for (Like Emilie's grandfather)
* At the end of ''Film/TwelveYearsASlave'', Solomon is freed and reunited with his family in New York, but the other slaves owned by Edwin Epps are no better off than before. In fact, more than one historian has wondered what became of Patsy after the events of the movie but couldn't find any solid answers.
** Things didn't end particularly happily for the real-world Solomon Northup either. Around four and a half years after he regained his freedom, he disappeared without a trace. To this day, historians can only speculate as to what happened to him.
* ''Film/KillerKlownsFromOuterSpace'': All of the five main characters survive, Dave and the Terenzi brothers even get a DisneyDeath when they're shown to have survived the explosion of the Klown spaceship after all. At the same time, their entire hometown (or a very good portion at least) has been wiped out by the Klown invasion, which is ignored with a pre-credits pie gag. While in the ship, Dave does suggest trying to free the people trapped in the other balloons, but then the Klowns show up and they have no time to save anyone but themselves.
* ''Film/TheInternship'', the main characters' team wins and is the only one to get hired at Google. As [[http://www.timesunion.com/living/article/Mining-economic-misery-for-laughs-4583974.php this article]] points out, "in no previous America would it be considered a victory if 95 percent of your fellows were still left on the street."
* ''Film/TronLegacy'': It's somewhere between this and DownerEnding. Sure, Sam and Quorra escape The Grid alive, Quorra sees her first sunrise, and Sam is taking charge of Encom, hopefully driving the {{Pointy Haired Boss}}es and {{Corrupt Corporate Executive}}s out. But The Grid (and all the wonders the "digital frontier" promised) are in ruins, ''two-thirds of the named characters in the entire franchise'' are confirmed dead or de-rezzed, most of the remaining third [[BolivianArmyEnding have dim survival odds]] [[SequelNonEntity at best.]] Alan and Roy's work in trying to find Flynn Senior was AllForNothing, and they essentially gave up the best years of their lives. Quorra has no analog world skills or identity. Sam is pretty much seen as a proxy for his father. Oh, and that SequelHook - looks like Master Control isn't dead after all and Dillinger Junior is in its back pocket, meaning HereWeGoAgain.
* ''Not Easily Broken'' has the main characters, a married couple that was previously going through marriage problems that were exacerbated by a devastating car accident that severely injured her, [[BabiesEverAfter learning that they were having a baby and both being excited by it.]] However, this does nothing to work out the issues of the mother-in-law, whose misandry and disapproval of her apparently flawless son-in-law will linger on, impeding new grandchild or not, or the physical therapist that the husband developed feelings for whose own son received an out-of-the-blue traumatic brain injury during a swim meet and who was shortly afterwards taken off of life-support by the doctors over the desperate crying and pleas of his mother.[[note]]Legally, this can ''never'' be done without a lengthy civil process and there is no precedent of whom they would rule in favor for. Even if the medical staff resorts to outright ''bullying'' a family member to withdraw a critically-injured or ill patient from life-support, the latter will always have the final say on the matter.[[/note]]
* Done uniquely in ''Film/TheBigShort''. The protagonists all make millions of dollars from the 2007 economic crash, but of course millions of people are going to be dead or broke in the coming years. The unique bit is that the protagonists are all aware of how many people got hurt while they got off scot-free, and with the exception of Vennett are all various levels of horrified about it.

* Subverted and Lampshaded in ''Literature/RedDragon''. A family called the Leads is murdered, and Will definitely doesn't get a happy ending.

* Alexander [=McCall=] Smith's book ''The Careful Use of Compliments'' ends with the independently wealthy Isabel using her money to buy the journal she edits, firing the editorial board, and replacing it with her friends, all so she won't lose her editing job. Good for her, but sucky for the editorial board, the guy who was going to be the new editor, and all the journal's readers, since the journal will undoubtedly suffer a precipitous decline in quality.
%%* Creator/DeanKoontz's ''Literature/TheBadPlace''.
* Juliet Marillier's ''Literature/DaughterOfTheForest''. The sorceress is defeated. Sorcha and Red finally get together, are completely content with their lives and get a BabiesEverAfter ending, but Simon is left out in the cold, Margary is left alone with a baby, Liam's one true love is dead, Colum has lost his self-confidence and Finbar is stuck with a swan's wing. Quite a DownerEnding for most of the cast.

* Maggie Furey seems to have a thing for pulling this off quite well. At the end of her ''Artefacts of Power'' series, if you're not a friend of Aurian, you're looking at a bleak life... and even then, two of her friends are stuck ruling a province for someone they don't like ruling under, too many people simply die, the Nightrunners don't really have a home anymore (and if Faerie rule has a bad effect on trade they might not have of a living either), and the three Xandim protagonists are outcasts of the to-be-brought-back-in-chains variant. Let's just say it's reasonable that Aurian wants to take some time off with her child, lover, and [[NonHumanSidekick a couple of]] [[PantheraAwesome big black cats]].
* In ''Literature/BreakingDawn'', Bella and Edward (and Nessie) get a ridiculously happy ending. Meanwhile, all of the other Cullens still have their original problems (Jasper still has bloodlust, Rose still can't have kids, etc.) and every other secondary character goes back to a nomadic life, presumably on the Volturi's target list for standing with the Cullens. We're supposed to believe that Jacob also got a happy ending but, as he was someone who hated imprinting, it sure doesn't feel like that.

* Discussed in ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'', where a voodoo priestess fights a fairy godmother who's manipulating the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality for her own ends; the priestess thinks to herself at one point that she's fighting for all the exploited and down-trodden everyday people who "never got a happy ending" because they're just extras and side characters.

* Very common in the novels of Paula Volsky. Her settings are grim and dangerous, and many characters wind up dead or with other bleak fates. The protagonists tend to turn out OK--alive at the end, and often with romance as well.
* Completely inverted in ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'', where a TimeSkip reveals a ''world'' which is brighter and kinder than is usual for the series, and lead characters who've all but fallen apart. The long-enslaved Hork-Bajir are free and living in Yellowstone, the Yeerks and Taxxons have escaped their bodies and live in other forms, there is peace and trade between humans and Andalites. Eva, Alloran, and other hosts get to live free. But Rachel is dead, Jake is mired in depression and self-hatred, Tobias lives as a hawk in isolation, Ax has gone BloodKnight and recklessly pursues trouble, and Marco keeps himself busy and claims happiness but jumps to throw it all away for a suicide mission. Cassie calls herself and Marco the "only two survivors" among the Animorphs, but she's the only one who's managed to move on and make a new life and find love. The last several books in the series feature these characters looking at their options and choosing again and again to work for that world above their own personal interests, so perhaps it's not surprising.
* An extremely dark example in ''Literature/ThingsWeHaveInCommon'', crossing over with EsotericHappyEnding due to an UnreliableNarrator. The object of Yasmin's obsession, Alice, gets raped and murdered, and her body is probably never going to be found. Yasmin's family is destroyed by the accusation that Gary is a murderer, which is probably never going to lift. However, Yasmin and Sam get away with everything and the story ends with them getting together romantically and probably planning to abduct a victim together.

* When the Taiwanese server for ''VideoGame/SINoALICE'' shut down, players were given the chance to complete one final chapter to end the story - and how does it end? Alice [[AllJustADream wakes up from her dream]] and greets her friend with a cheerful smile, running out of her classroom to live her life. But everyone else in Reality? May suffer the same unpleasant fates they already had, just offscreen. And the world of Library? [[DreamApocalypse It's gone]]. ''[[DeletionAsPunishment Forever]]''. But at least Alice is happy... right?

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H10im8i-SMw MarshSMT's playthrough]] of ''VideoGame/PeretEmHeruForThePrisoners'' ended up in a downplayed case of this: Ayuto, Kyosuke, Yoko and Nei, the only pre-established friend group in the game, all survive the experience and are last described as "heading off to enjoy the rest of their vacation under the clear blue sky". Every stranger in the tour group that Ayuto didn't personally know (with the sole exception of [[ImprobableInfantSurvival Rin]]) [[AnyoneCanDie wound up dead]].

Related to ProtagonistCenteredMorality, InferredHolocaust, EsotericHappyEnding, EverybodysDeadDave, DwindlingParty. If an AdamAndEvePlot is both apocalyptic and presented as having an upbeat ending, it's also this.

* ''Inverted'' in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans''. The main members of [[LaResistance Tekkadan]] (Mikazuki, Orga, Akihiro and Shino) all die one-by-one in the final episodes, but everyone else still alive (and [[TheBadGuyWins that includes]] [[BigBad Rustal Elion]] and his entourage, [[TheDragon Julieta Juris]]) get happy endings. Kudelia gets elected leader of a newly independent Mars, Eugene and Chad survive the final battle and become her aides, most of the other surviving Tekkadan members all get jobs at the repair shop Nadi and Merribit open up, Atra becomes a farmer and raises her new child with Kudelia, Azee sets up a new Teiwaz subsidiary with the surviving Turbines, and [[WellIntentionedExtremist Rustal]] uses his new position as the undisputed leader of Gjallarhorn to enact some reforms, including signing a treaty banning the use of [[ChildSoldiers human debris]], while setting Julieta up to be his successor.

** The compilation movie continuity -- specifically the aptly-named ''Lelouch of the Re;surrection'' -- subvert this in Lelouch's case, [[BackFromTheDead as C.C. brings him back from the dead]], and the now immortal Lelouch joins C.C. in WalkingTheEarth.

* ''Inverted'' in ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans''. The main members of Tekkadan (Mikazuki, Orga, Akihiro and Shino) all die one-by-one in the final episodes, but everyone else still alive (and that includes the BigBad and his entourage) get happy endings. Kudelia gets elected leader of a newly independent Mars, Eugene and Chad survive the final battle and become her aides, most of the other surviving Tekkadan members all get jobs at the repair shop Nadi and Merribit open up, Atra becomes a farmer and raises her new child with Kudelia, Azee sets up a new Teiwaz subsidiary with the surviving Turbines, and [[BigBad Rustal]] uses his new position as the undisputed leader of Gjallarhorn to enact some reforms, including signing a treaty banning the use of [[ChildSoldiers human debris]], while setting Julieta up to be his successor.

* Inverted in ''Anime/CodeGeass'', where [[TheHeroDies Lelouch dies]] and Suzaku [[FakingTheDead fakes his death]] and forever takes on the identity of Zero, while the surviving main characters move on with their lives - Kallen gets to finish school without having to hide her identity, Ohgi and Viletta have BabiesEverAfter (and probably both go back to teaching school after Ohgi's term as prime minister), Tamaki opens a bar, and Empress Nunnally, Chairman Kaguya, and Tianzi Lihua rule over a peaceful world. And C.C. rides off in a cart to who-knows-where... [[BrokenBase and no]], [[{{Jossed}} Lelouch wasn't driving it.]] [[NotQuiteDead Well, even though he's confirmed to return in next installment]], [[ExactWords it could still be someone else]].

Related to ProtagonistCenteredMorality, InferredHolocaust, EsotericHappyEnding, EverybodysDeadDave, and DwindlingParty. If an AdamAndEvePlot is both apocalyptic and presented as having an upbeat ending, it's also this.

See also: WhatHappenedToTheMouse, where minor characters are forgotten about entirely. Contrast WinWinEnding where ''everyone'' gets a happy ending.

'''''Note:''''' This is a SpoileredRotten trope, that means that '''EVERY SINGLE EXAMPLE''' on this list is a spoiler by default and most of them will be unmarked. [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned This is your last warning]], only proceed if you really believe you can handle this list.

* In ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy,'' Lois is targeted for assassination by the Mafia by putting a bomb in her car. But Peter convinces the kingpin to spare her life; and the episode ends with Peter saying "all that matters is that nobody ''important'' got hurt." (As the parking valet's clothes come floating down from the sky in little pieces.)
** And in another episode:

** "The Best Night Ever", after trashing the Grand Galloping Gala and ultimately having their dreams of the best night ever ruined, Princess Celestia comes in and reassures them that she had always found the Gala dreadfully dull and invited her friends in the hopes that they could spice things up a bit, and the episode ends with them having a good laugh about it. On the other hand, many other ponies who were perfectly happy with the way things were had ''their'' night wrecked by the Mane Six's antics and, conversely, [[DoubleStandard the Mane Six were furious when Discord similarly ruined the next Gala for them]].
** "Best Gift Ever" went out of its way to show Marble Pie reacting to the fact that her chances of being with Big Macintosh had been sundered by [[https://trixiebooru.org/images/1868587 slinking away with a pained cringe.]] This is the last you ever see of her in the series, barring a brief cameo in the DistantFinale during a song. Hopefully she doesn't react to losing a boy she likes [[StartOfDarkness the same way Starlight Glimmer did]]...
* In ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin'', Baloo is declared the heir to a rich family and inherits their fortune. The reason he is the sole heir is that all the others were killed by the cook and the butler in a scheme to inherit the fortune, but all their attempts on Baloo's life fail and the cook and the butler are arrested. So all live happily...except for the rest of the family members, who were murdered.
* Done several times on ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', where the main characters resolve their issues while the city gets destroyed in the background. One episode had Fry and Leela making up after Fry put a humiliating video of her on the Internet, meanwhile all of Bender's and Fry's Twitcher subscribers get brainwashed by M.O.M.. Thankfully, they were brainwashed into buying more of her products. Another had Bender being saved from execution by going on a murderous rampage with Santa Claus. (ItMakesSenseInContext.) In yet another, Bender goes into witness protection after angering the Robot Mafia, and an identical robot his friends assume to be him is targeted and killed in his place, prompting this exchange when the real Bender reveals himself:
-->'''Leela:''' So that moon hillbilly who got murdered was just an innocent husband and father!
-->''({{Beat}}, then [[ComedicSociopathy everyone cheers]].)''

* Happens in the ''WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries'' special "Queen For a Day". Rapunzel manages to end the deadly blizzard curse that would destroy Corona and reunites with her parents, and Eugene comforts her when she doubts becoming queen and will be with her when the time comes. However, her friend Varian's father got frozen in amber thanks to a failed attempt to get rid of the black rocks, and since she couldn't come to help him because of the blizzard, he undergoes a StartOfDarkness and vows revenge on her (and by extension, all of Corona) for turning away from him.
* In ''WesternAnimation/HarleyQuinn2019'', the first season ends with Harley defeating the Joker and finally breaking free of her toxic relationship with him. She reconciles with her crew and Ivy (who was killed during the previous episode) is resurrected. However, the Justice League is also presumably still stuck in the Queen of Fables' book, Batman has disappeared, and Gotham has been ravaged by the mutated trees' rampage then by an earthquake caused by the Joker, presumably killing countless civilians. The episode (barring the cliffhanger) ends with Harley, Ivy, and their friends watching Gotham in flames. Since the main characters are {{Villain Protagonist}}s, they consider it [[BlackComedy a happy ending]].

* The ''[[WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid1989 Little Mermaid]]'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13935306/1/Poor-Twisted-Soul Poor Twisted Soul]]'' walks the line of this trope as the lead in question is only the lead for the final chapter. However, it otherwise plays this trope extremely strait. Basically, instead of turning her human, Ursula makes a deal with Ariel to give her a potion to make it so she won't feel guilty for doing what ever she wants. When Ariel drinks it, all kindness is removed from her heart and she is turned into a Cecelia (that is what Ursula is). Afterward, Ariel, having had all her positive aspects removed, goes along with Ursula's plan to overthrow King Triton. However, as Ariel predicted Ursula would betray her, she takes the trident for herself, kills Ursula, Triton, Sebastian, and Flounder, and transforms her sisters into mindless carnivorous monsters. The final chapter cuts to sometime later where Ariel has succeeded in taking over Atlantica, having killed everyone who revolted against her. However one family who defied her escape to Ursula's old home to turn human to escape Ariel. Unfortunately, there is only enough for one, so the two parents give the potion to their daughter Jobi, who escapes to the surface just before Ariel catches and kills them as well. This leaves Atlantica pretty much doomed, as no one is left to stop Ariel's now fully in control SuperpoweredEvilSide and any survivors must now follow her law to the letter or die. Jobi, however, is found and cared for by Prince Eric, and after two years, the pair wed and become king and queen where Jobi is [[OneHundredPercentAdorationRating loved by all]].

* The end of ''Film/{{The Birth Of a Nation|1915}}'', with the main characters HappilyMarried and the Klan firmly in control of the South, is this, with '''heavy''' ValuesDissonance.

* The end of ''Film/{{The Birth Of A Nation|1915}}'', with the main characters HappilyMarried and the Klan firmly in control of the South, is this, with '''heavy''' ValuesDissonance.

* In ''Anime/WolfsRain'', the only characters shown in the BittersweetEnding are the wolves (sans Blue) and Cheza. The implication is that human characters do not get to be reincarnated in the future.

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': Sin is destroyed and the people of Spira are finally freed from the cycle of death and suffering that had dominated their lives for a thousand years, but Tidus fades away into nothingness as the power of the spirits who created him vanishes, leaving his friends saddened and his {{Love Interest|s}} Yuna heartbroken.