Theory: Mario Doesn't Kill Toads

Abstract
Mario doesn’t kill Toads whenever he breaks Brick Blocks.

Many fan theories have cited page 2 of the Super Mario Bros. NES Manual as proof that whenever Mario breaks a Brick Block, he is killing a Toad. They say that the quote: “The quiet, peace-loving Mushroom People were turned into mere stones, bricks and even field horse-hair plants” proves that this is the case. However, this theory is not true and below I will explain why.

Arguments

 * Argument 1: Page 8 of that very same manual has the following quote: “If you come across Mushrooms who have been turned into bricks or made invisible (referring to Toads being transformed into Brick Blocks and Hidden Blocks respectively), they reward you by giving you a power boost (power-up)”. This means that the Toads were transformed into the Brick Blocks that cannot be broken and that turn into Empty Blocks when hit. Mario cannot break the blocks that the Toads were turned into.


 * Argument 2: In later games, where Mario can break empty blocks (such as New Super Mario Bros. when Mario gets a Mega Mushroom), the Toads were not actually transformed by Bowser, meaning Mario is still not killing Toads.