History WebVideo / ToTheDeath

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/to_the_death.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:The duel begins]]

''To The Death'' is a short web video by WebVideo/CorridorDigital, sometimes just called Corridor.

The full video can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAzY28C8Syc here]].

As soon as the teacher does so, a student in a black ''gi'' who also holds a laser sword enters the room, walking past the janitor and up to the teacher. A bearded man in casual clothes also approaches, unseen until he nonchalantly tells the janitor that it's "Graduation day", and the student has to win a real fight in order to graduate. The janitor asks why it's considered a real fight and not just sparring, and is unnerved when the man responds that the student will have to kill his opponent.

The fight begins, and despite some early offense by the student, even the janitor can tell that the student is nervous and the bearded man confirms that the teacher is controlling both the distance and timing of the fight, the two factors he says are the keys to winning a sword fight. Sure enough, the teacher forces the student back and then seriously wounds the student, who attempts to rally only to get his hand cut off. The student retrieves his sword from his own cut off hand, but is weakened by pain and falls to one knee. He's then helpless to do anything as the teacher knocks his sword aside and finishes him off.

The janitor is horrified, but the bearded man draws her attention to a large device the man in the black suit has wheeled out. Before her eyes, the man in the suit uses the device to heal the student's various wounds (including reattaching his hand) and then revive him. The student gets back to his feet and the duel continues...

* TheMedic: The main function of the man in the black suit is to operate the device that can heal the combatants.

* WhatTheHellHero: The janitor is disgusted at the "death" of the student in the first bout, and says that the school is "fucked up" for having death matches. The master then shows her that thanks to healing technology, the wounds actually aren't fatal and there is no intent for anyone to be killed for good.

* BookEnds: In the first duel the teacher successfully intimidates the nervous student by using some aggressive movement and tactics that put the student completely on the defensive. It caused the student to abandon any attempt to control the flow of the fight and set up the endgame where the teacher was able to dominate what was happening. In the final bout the student is now over both his nerves and his ego, and rather than fleeing when the teacher attempts to seize control by going aggressive with a big blow, the student carefully judges the distance, makes the teacher's blow ''just'' miss (with it even singeing the student's hair as he moves his head out of the way), and then strikes a winning counterblow that ends the fight.

* HeroicSecondWind: Subverted in the first bout. When the student retrieves his sword from his own cut off hand, you might expect him to have a miraculous second wind or at least put up some notable LastStand. Instead he's almost instantly overcome by pain and the injuries he suffered earlier, and the teacher finishes him off without any further resistance.
* TheMedic: The main function of the man in the suit is to operate the device that can heal the combatants.

** Despite the words of the bearded man, nobody is actually going to die, at least not for good. It seems that the duel will go on either until the student wins or quits.

A curious young janitor is working in a mostly empty room, while on the opposite side two men are standing together, one dressed in a black suit, the other a teacher in a white ''gi''. The man in the suit is adjusting and fine-tuning a LaserSword, turning it from a flame-like outpouring of heat into a focused blade. After finishing he hands it to the teacher, who inspects it for a few seconds before nodding in approval.

The janitor is horrified, but the bearded man draws her attention to a large device the man in the black suit has wheeled out. Before her eyes, the man in the suit uses the device to heal the student's various wounds and then revive him. The student gets back to his feet and the duel continues...

* BookEnds: In the first duel the teacher successfully intimidates the student by using some aggressive tactics that put the student completely on the defensive. It works and student abandons any attempt to control the flow of the fight. In the final bout the student is now over both his nerves and his ego, and rather than fleeing when the teacher attempts to seize control with a big blow, the student carefully judges the distance, makes the teacher's blow ''just'' miss (with it even singeing the student's hair as he moves his head out of the way), and then strikes a winning counterblow that ends the fight.
* ChekhovsGun: During the first bout, the school's master says that the two keys to winning a sword fight are distance and timing. In the last bout the student is over his nerves and focused, allowing him to use those two factors and win the bout.

* DefeatMeansFriendship: The teacher smiles with pride when the student defeats him, and after being revived he immediately embraces the student and they share some laughs.

* OhCrap: Unlike the first two duels, in third the student doesn't show any obvious signs of nerves... until the teacher casually redirects their blades right through the student's arms, resulting in a quick shot of the student gasping in horror at the stumps of his arms.

** After finally winning the student immediately bows in respect to the bearded man, prompting the janitor to ask who exactly he is. He reveals that he's the master of the sword fighting school.

* OhCrap: Unlike the first two duels, in third the student doesn't show any obvious signs of nerves... until the teacher casually redirects their blades right through the student's arms, resulting in a quick of the student gasping in horror at the stumps of his arms.

* AndTheAdventureContinues: The video ends with the student finally winning, and the bearded man, who is revealed as the school's Master, asks the janitor is she is interested in becoming a student. She seems intrigued by the prospect.

* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The uniforms for the student and the teacher are opposites. The teacher wears a mostly white ''gi'', with some small black and yellow stripes. The student's ''gi'' is black with a white stripe in the same area where the teacher has a black stripe.

As soon as the teacher does so, a student in a black ''gi'' who also holds a laser sword enters the room, walking past the janitor and up to the teacher. A bearded man in casual clothes also approaches, unseen until he casually tells the janitor that it's "Graduation day", and the student has to win a real fight in order to graduate. The janitor asks why it's considered a real fight and not just sparring, and is unnerved when the man responds that the student will have to kill his opponent.

The fight begins, and despite an early offensive by the student, even the janitor can tell that the student is nervous and the bearded man confirms that the teacher is controlling both the distance and timing of the fight, the two factors he says are the keys to winning a sword fight. Sure enough, the teacher forces the student back and then seriously wounds the student, who attempts to rally only to get his arm cut off. The student retrieves his sword from his own cut off hand, but is weakened by pain and falls to one knee. He's then helpless to do anything as the teacher knocks his sword aside and finishes him off.

The janitor is horrified, but the bearded man draws her attention to a large device the man in the black suit brought out. Before her eyes, the man in the suit uses the device to heal the student's various wounds and then revive him. The student gets back to his feet and the duel continues...

* BookEnds: In the first duel the teacher successfully intimidates the student by using some tactics like rushing towards him or winding up for a big slash when the student is completely defensive. It works and student abandons any attempt to control the flow of the fight. In the final bout the student is now over both his nerves and his ego, and rather than fleeing when the teacher attempts to seize control with a big blow, the student carefully judges the distance, makes the teacher's blow ''just'' miss (with it even singeing the student's hair), and then strikes a winning counterblow that ends the fight.
* ChekhovsGun: In the first bout, the school's master says that the two keys to winning a sword fight are distance and timing. In the last bout the student is over his nerves and focused, allowing him to use those two factors and win the bout.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The uniforms for the student and the teacher are opposites. The teacher wears a mostly white ''gi'', with some small black and yellow stripes. The student's ''gi'' is black with a white stripe in the same spot.

* DefeatMeansFriendship: The teacher smiles with pride when the student defeats him, and after being revived he immediately embraces the student and laughs.
* DuelToTheDeath: Well, yes and no.

* {{Flynning}}: Almost entirely averted, the entire goal of the video was to make a realistic lightsaber fight. The result is a very quick and defensive martial art with quick, minimal movements, so it lacks the big hack and slash cuts common in Hollywood movies or aiming for the opponent's sword. There are a few touches of flynning, but they mostly either result in getting punished, or, in the first fight, the teacher successfully attempting to intimidate the student and exploit his nervousness.