Amen. I never read the manga, but I did watch the show. He was my favorite character because he was, in so many ways, the person I want to be. I hated it when he died, but it made the story that much more enveloping. 
P.S. One of the things I hate the most in stories is good characters, (often they are the only decent people) killed for no good narrative reason. Just shock value; and even then often poorly done.