Dragged by the Collar

What do you do when somebody's being stubborn or trying to excuse himself from a sticky situation? Force him into it by dragging him away by his collar, of course!

Getting dragged by the collar is often used as a comedic device, most often in Anime (though it does pop up in western animation sometimes). The "victim" would, more often than not, be trying to escape an embarrassing predicament (of his own doing) before another person grabs him and drags his butt off to whatever mess awaits him. The victim's loud protests and flailing of arms are optional. Small variants include getting dragged while standing (with the heels skidding on the ground instead of the butt), and stiff, outstretched arms. Sometimes, instead of the collar, characters are dragged by their cheeks, ears, arms, or legs. This is not always used for comedy, however, especially when the one being dragged away is unconscious, injured, or in severe cases, dead.

See also Necktie Leash (which is similar to this, only done for flirtatious or sexual reasons). Compare and contrast with The Load, where the victim actually wants to tag along, but the other characters won't let him. For a Darker and Edgier version of this trope, where the very act of dragging causes injury or even the death of the victim, see What a Drag.

Examples of Dragged by the Collar include:

Anime & Manga

  • In Amagami, Haruka gets dragged away from the swim team's Oden stall by Hibiki... followed shortly by a drunk Takahashi-sensei, by the members of Ayatsuji's student council.
  • In K-On!, Mio gets dragged by Ritsu to rehearse for their Romeo and Juliet school play. To be fair, Ritsu is also part of the mess — Mio plays Romio and Ritsu plays Juliet.
    • Also happens when Azusa drags off Yui to study for her retake tests. Imagine: tiny little Azunyan dragging off a crying Yui...
  • Misaki constantly beats up and drags away the Comic Trio in Kaichou wa Maid-sama!.
  • The trope's image above comes from Petit Roid 3.
  • The titular Squid Girl gets dragged off after getting drop-kicked in the head by Eiko in episode 5.
  • It's very common in Ranma ½ to have someone, usually in a despondent mood, drag a bemused Ranma along by his braid (sometimes in the middle of a run, causing him to hover in the puller's wake.) Strangely, he's only slightly bewildered but otherwise nonplussed when they drag him while he's male; when female, it always hurts enough to make her scream and flail around.
  • Happens in the "darker and edgier and unconscious variant" in the intro scene of the 16th episode of Higurashi (yes, the intro of THAT Arc).
  • Hughes does this a lot in Fullmetal Alchemist, prompting Ed to call him a kidnapper.
  • THE iDOLM@STER - Makoto does this to the Producer during their date at the amusement park.
  • In Saint Beast, instead of waiting for Shiva to say he'll help them with the festival preparations, Gai grabs his wrist and starts dragging him along with them. This upsets Shiva even further and he violently wrenches away and runs off.

Film

  • In ID4, Steven Hiller (played by Will Smith) knocks out an alien and drags its body in the middle of a desert on the way to Area 51, all the while complaining to himself of all the crap he's been through up to that point.

"...AND WHAT THE HELL IS THAT SMELL!?" *curbstomps alien*

  • In Superman Returns, a depowered Superman gets dragged away from Lex Luthor by his henchmen, who then take turns beating him up.
  • Done to horrific effect in Spider-Man 2, when one of Otto Octavius' rampaging tentacles drags away a screaming doctor complete with her futile attempt to cling to the floor with her nails, leaving a straight, clawed-out trail into the dark corner where she was dragged into.
  • A cruel yet ironically justified version happens in Predators, when Royce (Adrien Brody) drags of a critically-wounded Edwin (Topher Grace) after he tried to kill Royce and Isabelle.

Video Games

  • After defeating Rayquaza in the Subspace Emissary of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Fox is ready to leave but Diddy wants him to help rescue DK. Fox wouldn't hear any of it so Diddy just grabs him by the collar and drags him. The scene is later repeated when Falco arrives, with Fox gleefully following as Diddy does the same to him.
  • In Baek's Tekken 5 ending, Hwoarang gets dragged away (complete with puppy-dog eyes) by his master after he caught his student fighting with some thugs.
    • Dragunov also drags away Devil Jin (by the horns, no less!) in an in-game cutscene in Dark Resurrection.
  • One of the Boring but Practical skills introduced in Tenchu 2.
  • Also a part of Snake's skill set in the Metal Gear series. Works both ways (Snake can drag away conscious soldiers by putting them in a chokehold, and for the unconscious/dead, by the torso or legs).
  • In Army of Two, if one player gets shot down, the other has to drag his ass off the battlefield and into a safe place to resuscitate him. The banter between Salem and Rios make this extra funny.

"Where did you learn first aid, butcher school?"

  • In Heavy Rain, when Madison gets killed in The Taxidermist, the killer drags her to his bathroom to stuff her up
    • If Norman Jayden does not survive his encounter with Jackson "Mad Jack" Neville, the chapter may end on Mad Jack dragging Norman's limp body in the general direction of the acid bath he keeps in his garage.
  • Pyramid Head can be seen dragging off and raping one of the Mannequins in Silent Hill 2.
  • Happens in Infinite Undiscovery. It's amusing in that Aya is casually dragging and berating Capell at the time for his irresponsibility and Capell, in a suit of armor mind you, doesn't offer any resistance beyond stubbornly crossing his arms.

Web Comics

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