History Main / Tragedy

* ''Videogame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' tells the story of Roxas. A boy who was never meant to be born but who, despite that fact, decides to find purpose in life. After meeting his best friends Axel and Xion, it seems like he finally found the life he always wanted to have forever. Of course, the fact that said friends were also anomalies that weren’t supposed to exist, means that finding their Disney Happy Ending was a fool’s errand from the beginning. Even when all three clutches for dear life to their identities, their feelings, and even their own lives, at the end, it is this fervent desire to exist which brings their ultimate doomed fate to pass. Creator/{{Disney}} fans who are not fond of tragedy should avoid this game completely, [[spoiler:or play the whole saga all the way to Videogame/KingdomHeartsIII where this tragic ending is ultimately reversed]].
* ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', The game's [[spoiler: 8th]] chapter is one and pretty much tells us the origin story of the overarching BigBad Odio:
** [[spoiler: We meet KnightInShiningArmour Oersted and his Best Friend Streibough, and they are both in a tournament to win Princess Althea's hand, and Oersted wins. With Streibough being the best friend of the now future king Oersted, he should have tons of privileges and glory. However Streibough wants only the best and when Althea gets kidnapped, he used it as an opportunity to make his best friend commit regicide and after faking his own death he rushes and saves Althea first, because of how ambiguous everything is in the medieval chapter. There are several ways to interpet Althea's SpitefulSuicide, but any way one believes it she did it because she believed in lies told by Streibough. Anyways with both Hasshe and Uranus dead, Oersted heads to the mountain, hoping that after all this time, Althea still believes in him, she instead commits her spiteful suicide, however it may have been prevented if Oersted isn't a HeroicMime [[FallenHero before snapping]], Althea allowing him to at all explain what he is in before making assumptions, the people of Lucretia not being so naive, finally and most importantly of all... Streibough sallowing his pride. Alas that didn't happen and [[ThenLetMeBeEvil as such]] Odio is born...]]

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%%** We meet HeroicKnight Oersted and his Best Friend Streibough, and they are both in a tourament to win the princess Althea's hand

* ''Literature/BelCanto'' follows a hostage crisis, and lots of sympathetically portrayed StockholmSyndrome and LimaSyndrome even as it is made clear that it will inevitably end in the deaths of most to all of the highly sympathetic hostage takers and perhaps some of the hostages as well.

As you can guess from the above facetiousness, Tragedy is also as clingy as Irony and as difficult to define and apply. It's not enough to be on [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism the deeply cynical end]] and have a [[TwistEnding Twist]] or DownerEnding with plenty of {{Drama}} and [[TrueArtIsAngsty artsy angst]] along the way, or have the hero's [[TooHappyToLive happy home life destroyed]] with a [[RapeAsDrama girlfriend raped]] and [[CynicismCatalyst a dead little sister]]; it has to be of an epic scope with inexorable and self-inflicted pain brought about for past sins. And, despite all that, it also has to give the viewer closure.

* ''VideoGame/MafiaII'' follows two best friends who join the mob and get involved in the criminal underworld. Naturally, chaos and tragedy ensue.

* ''Fanfic/TheGoodHunter'' is labelled as such, alongside the {{Fantasy}} tag in Fanfiction.net. It may not seem obvious at first glance, but if one considers [[{{Deuteragonist}} Ursula's]] actions in the story, it is clear that she is the TragicHero of the story. Ursula is a person of great status, as [[TheCaptain the Captain of the 4th Company]]. She makes the TragicMistake of going after [[HeroicNeutral the]] [[OneManArmy Hunter]], [[BullyingADragon despite knowing that he is entirely capable of defeating her effortlessly]]. Warnings from multiple parties notwithstanding, she still decides to participate in [[TheTeam a squad]] to pursue him due to her [[FatalFlaw Fatal Flaws]]. That is, her {{Pride}}, the urge to find a WorthyOpponent, her desperation to regain her [[HonourBeforeReason honour]] to make up for Druella's defeat, and her failure to look past the mentality of DoUntoOthersBeforeTheyDoUntoUs. While the fanfic is currently ongoing, [[spoiler:the SpaceBattles.com snippets shed light on her ultimate fate. Not only she alienates many of her comrades during her pursuit of the Hunter, she is presumably hunted by him personally after the raid on Sasha's second orphanage.]]

** One plotline in the first half of the ''A Vision of Shadows'' arc concerns [=ShadowClan=] apprentices rebelling against their Clan in favor of Darktail's group of rogues. The story particularly follows Needletail, whose alienation and perceived lack of being cared for in her Clan leads her to romanticize the violent lifestyle of Darktail's group, the Kin, as a way of finding a purpose, despite having clearly seen how cruel it can get. The result is the fall of ShadowClan to the rogues and everyone being caught in a nightmarish situation where one misstep will mean getting killed by their paranoid and tyrannical leader. While Needletail doesn't have a particularly high position in her Clan, she is certainly in a lot better position at the start than she ends up in - imprisoned, having lost her LoveInterest to the Kin's violent politics, and realizing far too late just what she has done, before herself being killed.

* Neil Gaiman's ''ComicBook/TheSandman'' is a five-year tragedy, carefully crafted in the Greek tradition of Tragedy, about a mythical god-king trying to fix the mistakes of his past but unable to change the rigidity that caused those mistakes to begin with [[spoiler: so he kills himself to allow a new god-king to rule]].

* ''[[WebAnimation/DiamondInTheRoughTouhou Diamond in the Rough]]'': A DeconstructiveParody of a type of MarySue fic that was common in the ''VideoGame/TouhouProject'' fandom at the time. Instead of making the lead character a ParodySue like most anti-Sue fics, Spaztique made him a TragicHero and followed the classical tragic formula very closely, including the DoomedProtagonist (the opening shot is minutes before his death, so the audience knows from the start how it's going to end) being warned time and again that his path will lead to his downfall, but unable to heed that advice because of his FatalFlaw. [[spoiler:There's even a ''peripeteia'' moment in the epilogue, where Brolli's JudgementOfTheDead is that he will be permitted to reincarnate, as his genuine remorse for his actions and how they've hurt the residents of Gensokyo show that there's hope for his soul, unlike most Gappys which are written off as unsalvageable and [[CessationOfExistence obliterated]].]]

* ''Film/{{Joker|2019}}'' is fundamentally a ([[MultipleChoicePast possible]]) OriginStory for [[Franchise/{{Batman}} The Joker]], but is ultimately a singular character study about a greatly troubled, yet overall decent man [[TraumaCongaLine who endures so much trauma]] that [[FromNobodytoNightmare he gradually devolves into a nihilistic, near-unstoppable nightmare]]. The film eschews any form of superheroic camp or glamor to Arthur Fleck's downfall, instead posing as a cautionary tale focusing on how someone's personal flaws can be exacerbated by a flawed society, leading to anyone declared and dismissed as a monster [[ThenLetMeBeEvil becoming more comfortable with]] ''[[ThenLetMeBeEvil being]]'' [[ThenLetMeBeEvil a monster]].

* A textbook classical tragedy would be ''Theatre/OedipusTheKing''. The hero, Oedipus (of the famous [[OedipusComplex complex]], though he does not necessarily possess it), is a heroic[[note]]when used by the Greeks, "heroic" does not describe a character's morality but rather their PowerLevels. Anyone demi-human, transhuman or superhuman was a "hero"--Medusa, for instance.[[/note]] and generally admirable man who ruled Thebes wisely. However, it is struck by a strange drought that no one can explain. Sages say that [[FisherKing since the land and king are one]], the king has done something to poison the land, and [[ProphecyTwist only he]] can [[FigureItOutYourself ferret out that mistake]]. Despite warnings from sages and wise men that Oedipus [[YouDoNotWantToKnow won't like what he discovers]], he learns that the previous king heard a [[SelfFulfillingProphecy prophecy]] that his son would kill him and marry his mother, so the king had his son [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat bound and abandoned in a forest]] and he went into hiding to avoid being killed. However, the son survived and killed him unrecognized for cutting him off in traffic, and afterward killed the Sphinx [[RiddleOfTheSphinx (of the riddles)]] and was rewarded with the kingship of Thebes, including the widowed queen. [[DramaticPause ...]] [[{{Squick}} Yep.]] His mother-wife commits suicide in shame, and he blinds himself in sorrow.

* ''LightNovel/FateZero'' doesn't have complete closure due to being a {{prequel}} to the earlier ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' (which does provide a proper conclusion to the consequences of ''Zero''), but is a spectacular tragedy in and of itself, and one that fans of the Nasuverse ''know'' [[ForegoneConclusion didn't end well]]. It is filled to the brim with GreyAndGreyMorality, with the Masters either being in the fight for at least arguably selfish reasons (Tokiomi, Kayneth, Waver, Kirei), have genuinely good intentions but will do incredibly questionable things to achieve their goals (Kiritsugu, Kariya) or are just plain evil (Ryuunosuke, [[spoiler:Kirei later on]]). The Servants either have little choice in the whole matter or are no better than the Masters. And by the end, it gets ''ugly''. The only Master who doesn't end up dead, in despair or evil at the end is the one who actually grew positively as a person. [[spoiler:That person is Waver, who managed to get away with a happy ending. The only other two masters who survive are Kiritsugu, who is arguably the main human protagonist, and Kirei, who ends up being the end villain alongside Gilgamesh. Ryuunosuke is shot dead, Kayneth is also shot dead alongside his fiancee (even after sacrificing his own Servant for their lives), Tokiomi is stabbed in the back by Kirei, and despite his best efforts, poor Kariya also dies, only deepening Sakura's despair. Kiritsugu, despite surviving, ends up a broken man as all his sacrifices end up being for nothing, and his dream forever out of his reach.]] The only silver lining is [[spoiler:Shirou Emiya being saved from the fire by Kiritsugu, and later vowing to take up his adoptive father's dream of becoming a hero.]] That silver lining is the direct catalyst for its sequel bringing the tragedy to its final closure in the sequel.

* While ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' isn't itself a tragedy like [[LightNovel/FateZero its prequel]] mentioned above, many of the heroic spirits have a backstory in their previous life that definitely falls into this category.

* The central character of ''Film/CitizenKane'', a multimillionaire newspaper publisher with his very own private estate, ends up dying alone and unloved thanks to his narcissism.

* the story of King Andrias in ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'' can certainly be read as a tragedy. [[spoiler:Andrias is the prince of a mighty empire and has two beloved and trusted friends by his side. The seeds of tragedy are laid when his father, King Aldrich, grants him the right to lead the next invasion force, and the tool that ensured their empire's prosperity, but warns him that he should not put his trust in other people than his family. Andrias, kind and trusting, tells his friends everything, and trusts them greatly, but because of that trust, one of his friends receives a vision foretelling that the empire will be doomed. She attempts to warn the King, but Aldrich does not listen, so she instead choses to steal the source of the empire's power and hide it far away. Andrias tries to stop her, but fails, and blames himself for the following downfall of the empire, spending a thousand years trying to atone. Andrias' flaw could be considered his divided trust, as he both trusted his genuine friends, and his manipulative father, but circumstances far beyond his control led to said friendship being broken and him to fall under his father's control to an even greater degree. Oh, and the three friends died without ever seeing each other again]].

** Shakespearean Tragedy, in the style of ''Theater/RomeoAndJuliet'', follows the same structure but shakes (heh) it up by introducing collateral damage; Whereas Classic tragedy tended to focus narrowly on one person and their suffering, Shakespeare's plays often had innocent supporting cast get dragged into the story and suffer as a result.

** As a whole, the entire ''Star Wars'' saga (the prequel trilogy, original trilogy, and new trilogy) is an [[TheEpic epic]] [[GenerationalSaga generational]] tragedy, at least in regards to the Skywalker family. The prequels have Anakin Skywalker start out as a promising young Jedi Knight (as well TheChosenOne), who eventually turns to the Dark Side due to his fear of losing Padme, his growing discontent with the Jedi Council, and his manipulation at the hands of Palpatine/Darth Sideous. He dismantles the Jedi Order and ushers in an era of darkness and tyranny throughout the entire galaxy by helping Darth Sideous form the Empire. The original trilogy revolves around his son Luke Skywalker defeating said Empire and redeeming him shortly before his death. In the sequel trilogy [[spoiler: it's revealed that Kylo Ren is actually Ben Solo, the son of Anakin's daughter Leia Organa and Han Solo, and that [[HistoryRepeats much like his grandfather Anakin]], he trained as a Jedi but eventually fell victim to the Dark Side and helped establish the First Order, a dictatorship much like the Empire. Ben is partially driven by a desire to live up to the dark legacy his grandfather left behind, and a desire to prove himself to his master Supreme Leader Snoke by severing all remaining emotional ties, including his parents. Despite this, there is still some remaining light inside of him, as seen by the guilt he feels after killing his father, and his inability to go through with killing his mother. Luke Skywalker tried and failed to bring back the Jedi Order after the events of the original trilogy, and exiles himself to a distant island, [[DespairEventHorizon having lost all hope]] after his nephew and former student Ben Solo pulled a FaceHeelTurn and murdered half of his students while taking the rest with him. Ben's FaceHeelTurn officially started when Luke, in a moment of weakness, contemplated killing him once he realized just how great his potential for evil was. By the end of [[Film/TheLastJedi Episode VIII]], Luke passes away while [[CallBack gazing peacefully at a twilight sky with two moons]], using the last of his strength to buy time for the Resistance (led by his sister Leia) and confront Kylo Ren. In [[Film/TheRiseOfSkywalker Episode IX]], Leia and Ben Solo die ]].

%%* Creator/AkiraKurosawa's film ''Film/{{Ran}}'', being a Sengoku-Era Japan version of ''Theatre/KingLear'', does tragedy to a T.

* ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'' While technically Neo-Noir is known for its tragic endings, [[spoiler:it's all Jake Gittes' fault, for trying to do the right thing.]]
* The central character of ''Film/CitizenKane'' ends up dying alone and unloved thanks to his narcissism.

* Tolkien's ''Literature/TheChildrenOfHurin'' is a textbook example: Half of Túrin's problems come from him being impulsive, letting his anger cloud his judgement, and his unwillingness to swallow his pride and listen to advice. The other half comes from Morgoth himself being out to get him. In the end, all of Túrin's plans fail, he ends up either killing or leading all his friends to his deaths, and finally kills himself, having achieved nothing but destruction.

* Creator/GeorgeRRMartin characterizes ''Series/HouseOfTheDragon'' as a Shakespearean tragedy.

* ''VideoGame/MafiaII'' follows two best friends who join the mob and get involved in the criminal underworld.

* Tom Stoppard's ''Theatre/RosencrantzAndGuildensternAreDead.'' Despite their flashes of GenreSavvy and occasional (dark) comedy, the ending features a complete lack of awareness on the character's part. The futility of their project is laid bare, they die accomplishing nothing except discover their names (and that's still iffy). The downfall being external (but necessary). The minor status of the ''protagonists'' to "incidental" characters like Theatre/{{Hamlet}}.

* ''Theatre/WaitingForGodot'' is a low and existential tragedy.
* Arthur Miller's ''Theatre/DeathOfASalesman''. Willy Loman is a middle-class indebted salesman who delusionally believes that the right attitude and personality can spell success. This leads to disaster in his life and the lives of his children, especially Biff, and Willy Loman is never able to understand the cause of his misfortune and dies unaware. Miller subverts a classical tragedy by making a middle class man the subject of his play and making the protagonist never understand reality because of his blind spot at any point which ultimately [[spoiler: leads to his death]]. By his own admission, Miller didn't really make the subversion of tragedy work out, as Loman is kind of a pathetic figure.

* DrivenToSuicide: Not a few tragic heroes end their tales by their own hand, usually either from [[DeathByDespair despair]] or to [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled prevent worse things from befalling them]].

* Similarly to the film above, Film/Scarface1983 stars Creator/AlPacino as a ruthless, albeit sympathetic gangster, whose own flaws eventually lead to the destruction of his criminal empire and everyone he ever cared about ending up either dead or hating his guts, as well as his own death at the hands of someone he screwed over.

* ''Film/Joker2019'' is fundamentally a ([[MultipleChoicePast possible]]) OriginStory for [[Franchise/{{Batman}} The Joker]], but is ultimately a singular character study about a greatly troubled, yet overall decent man [[TraumaCongaLine who endures so much trauma]] that [[FromNobodytoNightmare he gradually devolves into a nihilistic, near-unstoppable nightmare]]. The film eschews any form of superheroic camp or glamor to Arthur Fleck's downfall, instead posing as a cautionary tale focusing on how someone's personal flaws can be exacerbated by a flawed society, leading to anyone declared and dismissed as a monster [[ThenLetMeBeEvil becoming more comfortable with]] ''[[ThenLetMeBeEvil being]]'' [[ThenLetMeBeEvil a monster]].