History Main / SacrificialRevivalSpell

* In ''YuYuHakusho,'' this was Kurama's reason for stealing the Forlorn Hope, a magic mirror that grants any wish, but kills the user to do so. He was going to use it to save his terminally ill mother. [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in that Yusuke prevents this by joining him in the wish, so the Forlorn Hope takes half of their lives to save her.

* An amusing but but still touching instance of this occurs late in the Buu saga of ''{{Dragonball Z}}''. The beyond ancient Old Supreme Kai gives up his life energy so Goku, as a dead man stuck in other world, can fight elsewhere/live normally again. His halo vanishes and the Old Kai, without pain or distress, gains one.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' Krieg's "Redeem the Soul" skill allows him to instantly revive a downed teammate in exchange for putting him in a downed state.

** [[spoiler:Madara]]'s original plan involved being revived by the above character, not anticipating his change of heart. He's able to compensate by using [[spoiler:Obito]], who has taken the [[spoiler:Rinnegan]] as an [[VillainOverride unwilling sacrifice]].

** Later, [[spoiler: Nagato does this as well, but because his power makes him something close to a PhysicalGod, he's able to revive the several thousand Konoha villagers he murdered with his strongest attack before expiring from it.]]

* Toward the end of the ''{{Scryed}}'' anime, [[spoiler: Scherris Adjani finds and uses her "Eternal Devote" alter power on Ryuhou shortly after he's killed by BigBad Kyouji Mujo. His agony and gratitude upon seeing her deceased boost his power.]]

* In ''{{Thorgal}}'', Thorgal is in a place with bright glowing strings all around him representing human lives. He will only get his life back if he cuts a single one, killing the person. He refuses, but Shaniah, the girl who'd followed him (and is desperately in love with him) cuts it herself. Thorgal gets back to life, but as they leave, she fades away, as it was her own lifeline she'd cut.

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Beric Dondarrion, a follower of the fire god R'hllor and a repeated target of a more conventional resurrection power attributed to that deity, somehow developed this power and sacrificed his own life to raise [[spoiler: Catelyn Stark]] from the dead. Or maybe it's the same power of "the Kiss of Life" Thoros used on him, but Beric is a layman, not a priest, and cannot cast the full version himself safely. He was unwilling to live on, anyways, because resurrection in this world is always flawed and damages the returning soul.

* The MMORPG in ''{{Yureka}}'' has the Sacrifice spell, which not only kills you but makes you lose levels and randomises your stats. And has a less than 100% success rate. However, one character manages to avoid AwesomeButImpractical by [[spoiler:using it on an NPC who loves her, causing him to enter an UnstoppableRage]].

Rarely used in VideoGames (with the possible exception cutscenes or some {{Roguelike}}s), since the stakes tend to be lower, considering that there are often [[TraumaInn some other ways]] of [[OnlyMostlyDead reviving party members]].

* ''MagicTheGathering'' has Doomed Necromancer, which are sacrificed to bring back another card from the graveyard. Though judging by the illustration depicting the necromancer being throttled by the resurrectee, it's more like an example of TurnedAgainstTheirMasters.

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Beric Dondarrion, a follower of the fire god R'hllor and a repeated target of a more conventional resurrection power attributed to that deity, somehow developed this power and sacrificed his own life to raise [[spoiler: Catelyn Stark]] from the dead. Or maybe it's the same power of "the Kiss of Life" Thoros used on him, but Beric is a layman, not a priest, and cannot cast the full version himself safely.

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', Beric Dondarrion, a follower of the fire god R'hllor and a repeated target of a more conventional resurrection power attributed to that deity, somehow developed this power and sacrificed his own life to raise [[spoiler: Catelyn Stark]] from the dead.

* ''MagicTheGathering'' has Doomed Necromancer, which are sacrificed to bring back another card from the graveyard.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has the [[UselessUsefulSpell Revive Technick]], but you didn't get it until long after you got the basic Revive spell, and it was also on the market next to the more useful Arise Spell.

* In some entries in the ''ShinMegamiTensei'' series, the Recarmdra spell will revive all fallen party members at the cost of killing the caster, unless [[WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou the caster's death means a game over]], in which case it inflicts HPToOne on the user.

* One of the Forbidden Spells in ''OjamajoDoremi'' is bringing someone back from the dead, for the exact reason of it basically being a trade of lives. [[spoiler:We see the cast attempt this twice: the first time, Hazuki attempts to heal someone else's pet rabbit of being mortally wounded, which for spell purposes basically counts as trying to bring the rabbit back to life. The Witch Queen has to magically intervene to prevent Hazuki from suffering the penalty. The second time, in a flashback, we see Momoko attempt to bring Majomonroe back to life after Majomonroe had died. Momoko doesn't suffer the penalty simply because the spell ''doesn't work''; Momoko's magical power is still too weak. It's heavily implied that if it had worked, Momoko would have been killed.]]

* In ''{{Naruto}}'', Lady Chiyo uses a secret jutsu to revive Gaara, [[RedemptionEqualsDeath but at the cost of her own life]].

* ''FinalFantasyXII'' has the [[UselessUsefulSpell Revive Technick]], but you didn't get it until long after you got the basic Revive spell, and it was also on the market next to the more useful Arise Spell.

* In some entries in the ''ShinMegamiTensei'' series, the Recarmdra spell will revive all fallen party members at the cost of killing the caster.

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* ''Literature/DestinedToLead'' One of their rules of magic is that in order to bring back the dead, the spellcaster must 1. Die. 2.Go to the realm of the dead and ask if they want to be brought back to life. 3.1. If the dead fea says 'Yes' their spirit now inhabits the spellcaster's body- the spellcaster is still dead. 3.2. If they say 'No', both of them ''remain'' dead. These people are referred to in-universe as 'Returneds'.

* The caster must ''know'' the spell is necessarily going to kill them.

* In ''{{Persona 3}}'', [[spoiler: Chihiro revives Junpei after he was shot by Strega, at the cost of her own life.]]

* VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV has Erana's Staff have this function, [[spoiler: Toby sacrifices himself to bring his UndeadChild master back to life as a human.]]
* VideoGame/ValkyrieProfile has Lenneth able to grant this to others if they ask. She never forces anyone. The spell also exists in general in the game; one rule, however, is that it cannot be reversed. If someone is resurrected this way, and they try to resurrect the original sacrificer; both stay dead.

* ''Literature/DestinedToLead'' One of their rules of magic is that in order to bring back the dead, the spellcaster must 1. Die. 2.Go to the realm of the dead and ask if they want to be brought back to life. 3. The dead fea's spirit now inhabits the spellcaster's body- the spellcaster is still dead. These people are referred to in-universe as 'Returneds'.