And she also paints with all the "Colors of the Wind" in CGI, too!
"This is why so many heroes and villains wear such long clothing. Because it looks friggin' awesome when it's blowing in the wind."
For added atmosphere, play this video
while reading on.
Before any fight begins or important truth is revealed, or if the character is simply standing and looking noble, a wind will invariably blow, ruffling his hair, the grass at his feet, and/or his cape if he's wearing one. Invariably the character is either facing the wind head-on (or less commonly, standing perpendicular to it) so that the effect is cool, but his hair and garments won't get in his face.
Even if he's indoors.
Or in space, because the Rule of Cool overrules physics.
Some general situations where this occurs:
- Done often in Magical Girl series when spells are cast, monsters are summoned, etc.
- In any Western movie gunslinger face-off, will be accompanied by a worms-eye view of tumbling tumbleweeds.
Subtrope of Empathic Environment.
A Super-Trope to Hot Wind. Not to be confused with Fartillery, although that combination would be amusing.
Straight Examples:
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- In The Myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, when Orpheus looks back, a dramatic wind springs up and signals Eurydice's disappearance.
Anime & Manga
- Ace Attorney (2016): Dramatic wind is much more prevalent in the anime adaptation than in the games, to the point where attorneys are joked to have airbending powers by fans. An objection, whether by witness or attorney, inside the courtroom, or outside, will cause a gale of dramatic wind. The most egregious example of this has Phoenix Wright causing a witness to be blown over the railing behind the witness stand. Exploited by Manfred von Karma, who uses these bursts of dramatic wind to silence unruly witnesses simply by snapping his fingers.
- Bleach:
- A side effect of using any level of spirit power seems to be to summon a small gale to surround the fighters.
- Anime episode #202. Near the end of the fight between Kenpachi Zaraki and Nnoitra Jiruga, Nnoitra is badly wounded and Kenpachi considers the fight to be over (he refuses to kill an opponent who can't fight back). When Nnoitra insists that the fight continue, a breeze causes Kenny's cape to billow out as he considers his response.
- In the anime, dramatic wind tends to appear always when characters speak about something meaningful or, well, dramatic - for example each time Ichigo has said then-final goodbye to Rukia in Soul Society.
- Captain Harlock: Both Harlock's hair and his cape seemingly flare out at will.
- This accounts for most of the animation budget used in Dragon Ball anime adaptions, which have many sweeping shots of people standing dramatically... with nothing but their hair and cloaks animated.
- Fushigi Yuugi:
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has an abundance of this, particularly in the opening sequences. Notably, a moment in the second intro shows Ed's bitter reunion with his father with lots of wind and debris flying around, while the corresponding scene in the show has little more than a light breeze.
- Inuyasha:
- Any time Sesshoumaru is present.
- When Inuyasha switches to his demonic form, frequently his hair will suddenly blow in the opposite direction it was just moving.
- After Kagura dies, dramatic wind has a tendency to spring up whenever she's mentioned. Mostly centered around Sesshomaru, who will occasionally note its scent.
- In One Piece one of the key moments of the Marineford Arc is when the Badass Longcoat of Whitebeard is blown away by the wind revealing that his back didn't have a single scar of a retreatment.
- The fight between Luffy and Ussop had a dramatic wind in the beginning.
- K uses this pretty frequently to show off its Cast Full of Pretty Boys. Notably:
- In episode 2 of season 1, when Kuroh is about to fight Misaki. He's standing on a lamppost and the wind does very nice things with his ponytail and jacket.
- In the opening fight scene of season 2, when HOMRA and Scepter 4 have a pre-fight standoff on the roof of a high building. Several Long-Haired Pretty Boy characters, several Badass Longcoat characters, recipe for perfection.
- More or less constantly in Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl.
- In Kaze no Stigma, Kazuma is a wind mage, so obviously when he fights seriously he conjures tornadoes around himself that both protect him and blow his enemies away.
- Pops up a lot in Kuroko's Basketball, which makes very little sense, considering the matches are played indoors. Kuroko and Murasakibara in particular get it almost every other play.
- In the last episode of the first season of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, a strong wind suddenly blows Fate's long hair upward, underlining the most emotional and romantic moment during her private talk with Nanoha on the bridge ("Call my name"). That's some great timing by the weather gods.
- All the dramatic motion of hair, skirts, and capes during the airbourne battle scenes seem to have wind as well.
- Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch, any dramatic scene that doesn't take place indoors or underwater (and even then, the underwater ones get it too some days... physics has no hold in this series). It seems to be more of a "Dramatic Current" or "Dramatic Wave"
- A Dramatic Wind blows in right before Natsuki's "Marilyn Monroe moment" in episode 4 of My-HiME. Cue stunned looks from Mai, Mikoto and Takeda, followed by one of the reddest full-face Luminescent Blushes in anime.
- Naruto uses Dramatic Wind almost all the time, usually with accompanying windswept leaves for added effect. A particularly impressive use of Dramatic Wind was right after the moment Hinata confesses her feelings. When She Smiles, alright...
- Neon Genesis Evangelion:
- The opening credits. In this example, however, it's a well-placed case of hiding the true nature of the show.
- Also done in Asuka's debut, although the wind blows up her skirt.
- End of Evangelion: when the über pissed-off Unit 01 emerges from the ruins of NERV HQ, it's enveloped in a giant tornado and all we see is a silhouette, a pair of energy wings and two Glowing Eyes of Doom. The soldiers nearby are completely terrified by it. Possible extra points for the wind being caused by Unit 01 itself.
- Early episodes of Ranma ½, particularly Akane's face-off with Kunō in episode 2.
- In Rahxephon it seems to follow the mysterious Reika around wherever she goes.
- Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, commonly seen in aforementioned anime in the form of an emblazoned cape worn by Kamina for dramatic flair; alternately, in the form of the flag of the Great Gurren-dan. Notable for the fact this has even been shown to occur in space; or at the very least, the upper stratosphere. Could be caused by Spiral Energy — because, you know, Kamina and Simon are just that awesome. It's justified since the primary law of physics in the setting is Rule of Cool.
- Mendoza in The Mysterious Cities of Gold.
- About every other episode of The Twelve Kingdoms.
- Yu-Gi-Oh!:
- Seto Kaiba has a perpetually billowing longcoat... even when there's no wind! It billows backwards dramatically regardless of if it's indoors, underground, or in the airless vacuum of cyberspace. Perhaps he's used his fabulous wealth to install wire ribs into his coat, much like Victorian dresses. Being obscenely rich, he has screwed the law of gravity.
- Yugi's pointy hair is no match for his Coattails Of Doom!
- Fan Artists love to parody this — usually by Seto getting blown off his own Zeppelin because of his longcoat!
- The Haruhi Suzumiya Brigade-movie "The Adventures Of Mikuru Asahina" used this with Yuki's introduction.
Kyon: Yuki Nagato stands here dramatically... Although we don't really know why.
- Characters in Rurouni Kenshin are said to be able to summon their own Dramatic Wind by virtue of their Battle Aura; one sign that Yahiko Took a Level in Badass is that he manages to make a conveniently floating leaf break as it passes him.
- An egregious example can be found in Shattered Angels where Kyoshiro and Kuu stand face to face with one another but the wind blows at both characters in different (opposite) directions even though they are only standing a few paces apart.
- Shakugan no Shana: Space inside of a Fuzetsu seems to always be very windy, especially during standoffs. Though you'd think that a sealed space would have no wind at all, unless a spell was used...
- Reborn! (2004): Wherever a Vongola Guardian appears, there will be Dramatic Wind. Even inside. Even underground. It helps with the visual impact of the art. Somehow, it's justified since these things happen after energy bursts and big explosions when these boys decide to showcase their badass abilities.
- One of these seems to follow the Medicine Seller in Mononoke. And it's sparkly!
- Combined with Voices Silently Sing, Seshiro in the few episodes during the Oto Country arc in Tsubasa -RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE-.
- Fusanosuke appears to have a passionate love-affair with illustrating dramatic wind, particularly in the series Maiden Rose. Clothing especially gets blown about to full visual effect, but any sort of drapery will do.
- Right when the colors get normal in the first episode of CLANNAD a Dramatic Wind happens. There are some other times too with wind dramatically picking up. In one instance, Kotomi invokes the wind by opening a window.
- Hetalia: Axis Powers has two moments like this...although it's fair to say the drama of the moment is invariably soon after ruined, given that the show's nature is to take Refuge in Audacity.
- In one of the first scenes of the series, Germany is narrating philosophically about the Roman Empire's great accomplishments; we see the grass around Ancient Rome be ruffled lightly by the wind.
- During one of their first encounters, England and a toddler-aged America are conversing face to face in a Dramatic Field.
- Plenty of those in Kaze to Ki no Uta, and it even has this as its title.
- As does The Rose of Versailles which also has plenty of those.
- Dear Brother is no slouch in this. In fact, one of Nanako's first scenes in the anime has her clutching her bag to her chest and looking at the sky hopefully, as the wind blows and messes with her hair and clothes.
- In Slayers there is a spell called Diem Claw specifically for causing this effect on demand.
- Mekakucity Actors: Shaft really seem to enjoy making characters' hair and clothing ripple in the wind during big statements or dramatic moments. Even while indoors. Or in a cybernetic world. Ayano and her scarf are by far the worst offenders.
- March Comes in Like a Lion: As with Mekakucity Actors, Shaft employed this trope in their adaptation of this series in pretty much the same way, despite the source material not nearly being as gratuitous with it.
Art
- The Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabanel: This artwork captures The Climax of Lucifer's story. Being cast from Heaven after a long war against his beloved God is the turning point for his descent into full-blown villainy. Among other things, this is conveyed by the wind tousling his mop of hair, making this trope at least Older Than Radio. It's justified because, for added Rule of Drama, Lucifer is nested atop a mountain, so strong winds are no strange occurrence. This also serves to justify why his locks aren't obscuring his eyes, which are the painting's main element.
- Wanderer above the Sea of Fog: As the figure looks out at the mountainous expanse, his hair is ruffled by the wind.
Comic Books
- Doctor Strange: The Cloak of Levitation is in near-constant billow — justified since it's 1) magic and 2) associated with flight. When he stopped wearing it he adopted a Badass Longcoat look, then a housecoat with tails, just to keep the effect.
- "Golden Eyes" and Her Hero "Bill": Played straight whenever the titular Golden Eyes is wearing a scarf, or a cloak, or whenever her very long hair is down, or there happens to be a flag in the background. Even her dog Uncle Sam gets a his fur blown about.
- "Two of a Kind (1996)": After Madeline murders Marilyn, she and Harvey find each other out on a pier. A strong coastal breeze is blowing as their deadly affair begins its final act.
Fan Works
- In the Sailor Moon fic Cosmic Warriors, during a rooftop conversation between Luna and Usagi, the wind picks up as the former explains how the Dark Kingdom will kill everyone Usagi cares about to get to her.
- Used in Ask King Sombra when the Elkish◊ are introduced. Lampshaded by their king, whose mane is always flowing in a dramatic wind...because he's got someone following him around pointing a couple of fans at him.
- In Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers fanfiction Under the Bridge, Byronic Hero Widget waited to go on deck until the surfaced submarine was going the right velocity to cause her cape to flap in the wind.
- In Dragon Age: The Crown of Thorns, Alim Surana, the Badass Longcoat-wearing mage, sometimes generates his own wind, like when he destroys the rock wall Branka had collapsed over the tunnel they came through and during the whole succession mess in Orzammar, when he prevented the bloodbath and stood in the middle of the assembly room, adding some Glowing Eyes of Doom and a Battle Aura for intimidation purposes.
- In The Bridge, an unnatural breeze is mentioned multiple times being unusually warm and coming about in gales despite lack of appropriate weather or high altitude. It's actually a sign the spirit of Godzilla Senior was observing the events to watch over his sons and bring them aid.
Films — Animation
- The page pic is the "Colors of the Wind" from Disney's Pocahontas (picked up). And how. It's accompanied by a trail of fluorescent leaves.
- Parodied in Ralph Breaks the Internet, when Vanellope meets the Disney Princess characters. Pocahantas' hair is constantly billowing in the wind. Indoors, no less. She also invokes this by summoning the Colors of the Wind to help save Ralph at the climax.
- Frozen: Inside the ice palace, after learning that she has caused Arendelle to freeze over, Elsa creates a dramatic whirlwind (and snow) centred on herself. Justified in that Elsa can create/control snow and ice, and that things like this tend to happen when she's unhappy. This is inverted in the most dramatic of moments, as when her parents die, and when Anna freezes solid, Elsa freezes the air, leaving the snow (and the scene itself) suspended in dead silence.
- The floating hair-variant seems to be a fairly standard trope in Miyazaki films.
- In Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Nausicaa's hair floats before she goes berserk, even breaking a sword with a stick!
- The same thing happens with Kiki's hair when she's about to take off on her broom.
- In Princess Mononoke, when Ashitaka learns about the history of Irontown, the wind ruffles his hair. And he's inside a bar. This also happens whenever his curse starts up.
- My Little Pony: Equestria Girls:
- In the first movie, just before the final confrontation with Sunset Shimmer, dark clouds gather overhead and the night gets appropriately windy.
- Rainbow Rocks:
- In the prologue, the Dazzlings' discovery of Equestrian magic in the human world, marking the start of their Evil Plan, is during an appropriately windy night (the same as the climax of the first movie, in fact).
- Later, the Rainbooms stepping into the fight for the final battle is also accompanied by some dramatic wind blowing their hair and clothes.
- Friendship Games:
- For their solo parts in the full version of the "ACADECA" song, both Twilight and Sunset have some wind ruffling their hair, despite being theoretically inside.
- As with the climaxes of the previous movies, the wind begins blowing the girls' hair as soon as Twilight Sparkle starts walking to the center of the front yard, ready to unleash the magic. Afterward, it seems that holes in the fabric of reality can cause some serious drafts.
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has Spider-Man Noir, first introduced inside a room with the wind dramatically blowing his trench coat around him. Even other characters comment on this.
Spider-Man Noir: Wherever I go, the wind follows. And the wind... smells like rain.
- Tarzan has two Dramatic Wind incidents - Tarzan's hair rustles in the wind when he inherits leadership of the apes, and the final scene on the beach shows Jane and Tarzan buffeted by a wind that blows away from the boat and toward Africa.
- After the climactic fight in Kung Fu Panda, Po walks toward the crowd surrounded by a dust cloud so that his silhouette matches the legendary warrior from his opening dream, complete with a rounded hat and a cape billowing in the wind. It's Played for Laughs because the wind that billows his cape does not disturb the dust cloud at all and it stops the instant he emerges from the dust to reveal a wok as his "hat" and an apron as his "cape".
- After he is being kicked out of the town and had lost hope, Rango eventually decided to return to Dirt with the wind blowing on him to show his badassery.
- Happens during the climactic fight on the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
- In Turning Red, the red moon ritual involves this swirling around the chalk circle which emphasizes its mystical nature.
Films — Live-Action
- In the Hindi movie Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham, houses are incredibly drafty: even a small apartment seems to have high-powered fans running constantly off screen. And once the music numbers start, every conceivable thing (hair, clothes, paper, curtains, etc.) begins roiling like a poorly-built suspension bridge. Fortunately, the look is too awesome to annoy the audience.
- In The Mummy, nearly every important discovery about Imhotep is accompanied by an omnious gust of wind. This is later given a lampshade when, just before the book that will release Imhotep upon the world is opened, a gust of wind blows — and one of the characters, unsettled, remarks that it does that a lot around there.
- Batman in most incarnations has a cape solely for Dramatic Wind and also to provide an intimidating shadow. In the The Dark Knight Trilogy they changed that by making the cape into a firm glider to prevent hard landings. So now the Dramatic Wind is just an added bonus.
- Used almost to the point of ridiculousness in the film Behind the Waterfall.
- Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl:
- When Elizabeth falls in the water, there is a dramatic change in wind direction, apparently triggered by the pulse the medallion sent out.
- This is also used a little earlier in (Captain) Jack's introduction, when his braids are flying out behind him as he stands on top of the mast.
- Used many times in The Lord of the Rings. For example, when Saruman is casting a weather spell from atop Orthanc, his wizard robes billow around him dramatically although it may be justified because of altitude. Wind gets faster the higher up you go, and if you're standing on top of a bloody huge tower you're gonna get hit with a Dramatic Wind. Also, he was, y'know, conjuring a wind.
- In Face/Off some wind blows just in time to blow Castor Troy's coattails behind him as he strides from his car over to Pollux and his waiting aircraft. This is the scene that firmly introduces his character as a badass (not counting a flashback sequence).
- In Final Destination, whenever Death is around an ominous wind blows, even indoors.
- Firestarter : In the film version, Charlie's hair blows back when she's using her pyrokinetic powers, for no very clear reason.
- In Rogue One, Darth Vader manages to have his cloak billow in the wind while outside a spaceship in outer space watching the blockade runner escape with the Death Star plans. Maybe he was using the force? Anakin always was dramatic.
- In The Man Who Invented Christmas Dickens keeps his window open as he's thinking up the characters, and wind kicks in when he says Scrooge's name—prompting imaginary Scrooge to tell him to shut the window.
- William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet sets Mercutio's death on a beach getting hit with winds so strong it nearly tears the characters' clothes off. The weather was a case of Throw It In as an actual hurricane was approaching the location and the actors agreed to go out and film the scene anyway.
- Blade, the man with the blade from the Blade trilogy's Blade (1998), walks out of the vampire club into an empty alleyway where a strong wind is blowing trash to and fro. Blade walks through the strong winds without breaking stride, all while his Badass Longcoat flows through the wind behind him.
- Gooby: When the Hoonies first start trying to attack Willy, there's a scene where they open his bedroom window and disappear, while the wind is going strong.
- Love on a Pillow: The film ends with Renaud shouting his declarations of love and marriage proposal to Geneviève while a strong wind is whipping their hair and clothes around them.
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Judge Doom's clothes dramatically blow in the wind despite the fact that no one else's does because there's no wind. Just another dramatic effect adopted by a toon.
Literature
- In the Eighth Doctor Adventures, recurring antagonist Sabbath's coat is always billowing softly. Even when he appears in the Moon's surface.
- The Sixty-Eight Rooms: Each time Ruthie touches the key and shrinks, a gust of wind blows past her.
Live-Action TV
- Batwoman (2019). In "Prior Criminal History", Ryan Wilder has to do an Emergency Impersonation of our heroine at a pro-Batwoman rally. She stands on a rooftop but no-one notices her, so she's advised to angle her cape so it catches the wind. Fortunately a breeze blows up at just that moment, someone in the crowd sees her and everyone cheers.
- Doctor Who: In "Tooth and Claw", the Doctor and Rose are being subject to the wind as they arrive in 1879 Scotland and are interrogated by Queen Victoria's guards. The wind is the natural wind blowing through the area where filming was done, and behind the scenes stills show David Tennant, Billie Piper and the other actors having to wear parkas to keep themselves warm between takes.
- Legion: In "Chapter 9", during the David vs. Oliver and Lenny psychic battle Dance-Off, a very strong wind blows through in the middle and at the end of their confrontation even though they're inside a nightclub.
Music Videos
- The Eurovision Song Contest is rife with Dramatic Wind. One example is Swedish Carola, Queen of the Wind Machine.
- Michael Jackson was a fan (or at least danced in front of one) in his later music videos, like for example, in "Black or White."
- Teatro Comunale Dante Alighieri di Ravenna’s 2011/2012 production of George Fredrick Handel's "Opera Rinaldo" is rife with this, an effect achieved by having most of the stage in darkness and using stagehands in black morph suits to make singers’ capes and cloaks billow in nonexistent wind.
- Frank Sinatra's "Ill Wind":
Blow ill wind,
Blow away,
Let me rest today. - Most shots of Bonnie Tyler in the music video for Total Eclipse of the Heart have a wind machine pointed at her. Then again that's probably the least strange thing going on in the video.
Tabletop Games
- Dungeons & Dragons:
- There's a magical item called the Cloak of Billowing, whose sole property is that, yes, it billows ominously in a nonexistent wind.
- Also, a Weapon of Legacy called the Desert Wind. When the wielder grasps the hilt, it summons a gust of warm, dry Dramatic Wind for him and him alone.
- 3e sourcebook Races of Faerûn recommends a slight breeze from nowhere as one of possible traits for Air Genasi (mortals with a lineage that includes air genies or similar spirits).
- Of course, this is one of the classic things DMs in serious campaigns have to narrate.
Video Games
- Proto Man from the Mega Man (Classic) series of games is a repeat offender. His long scarf would rustle in the wind even if he was standing inside a building with no visible means of ventilation. The effect was done mostly to make him look cooler then he already was.
- This was noted in the Mega Man parody webcomic Bob and George, in which the titular Bob (a Protoman recolor) asks Protoman how their scarves blow around when there's no wind. Protoman replies, "We're just that cool."
- Protoman and Prometheus have air vents in their backs that makes their scarves flutter. They are also just that damn cool anyway though.
- The MMORPG City of Heroes is filled to the brim with examples. Once a character has a cape, it is always blowing in his or her very own personal wind whenever they are standing still - get five caped heroes together and each one's cape blows in a different direction.
- Certain powers in ''City of Heroes" actually generate their own wind, like "Hover." Most easily seen if you are in an outdoor leafy area, standing in a sea of shell casings from machine gun fire, or if someone around you has thrown the rose-petal emote from the Wedding Pack. Your hovering actually causes the debris to float up and away from you like it was caught in an updraft.
- Ryu's famous Victory Pose in the Street Fighter series shows him crossing his arms and disdainfully turning his back on his defeated foe. As he does so, the wind blows his headband and hair around, regardless of location.
- Sakura also does this, but she's wearing a skirt. The result is inevitable.
- In Ryu's case a leaf apears out of nowhere to complete the set.
- Solid Snake's notorious bandanna started off as an homage to Eighties Action Heroes, but evolved into a device to billow dramatically at convenient moments. The script for the second game even specifies this - "his bandanna streams behind him, even though there is no wind." (This was arguably done to add a sense of unreality to the moment, which was right in the middle of a build-up to a Gainax Ending...)
- Extremely important in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, where Vincent Valentine's main thing is to stand around looking grim, explain things in a gravelly voice and have his cape blow dramatically.
- He does that a lot. The only thing stopping him in the original game was the fact that his cape was as stiff as a board.
- In Final Fantasy VIII, wind apparently follows Rinoa and Irvine, but only Rinoa and Irvine, wherever they go. Why their hair and clothing are liable to flapping dramatically in the breeze, but not, say, Squall or Quistis's, is never addressed or explained.
- Squall's, too. Just take a look at some of the FMVs.
- Possibly justified by the fact that the hairstyles on both of them are longer and neither pinned up like Quistis' or hairsprayed to death like Selphie's, and therefore much more noticeable while in motion. Same goes for their clothes, which appear lighter, more flowing and less fitted.
- Dissidia Final Fantasy has the Victory Poses for Bartz and Firion: they stand with their hands on their hips while their capes blow in the wind.
- Ike summons up a little dramatic wind to flutter his cape when he taunts in Super Smash Bros.
- In Brawl's adventure mode, Captain Falcon's dramatic entrance consists of destroying a giant robot as well as most of Olimar's Pikmin as he lands. The awkward silence that follows is punctuated by leaves blowing gently by.
- Goddess Palutena has long billowing hair that is always flowing in the wind, presumably created by her for this very purpose. This actually has an effect on gameplay - any other characters near her actually get pushed by the wind. It's an exceedingly weak effect that's difficult to notice even zoomed-in against an unmoving opponent, but it's there.
- In Tales of the Abyss when Luke cuts his hair he lets a clump of it go and wind blows it away. It is extremely odd considering that they are inside a building, under the crust of the planet.
- Wielding a two-handed sword and a cape in RuneScape causes this even if you are in a dimension without air.
- This includes standing underwater.
- Final Fantasy Tactics: The battle atop Riovanes Roof when Elmdor's cape flaps in the wind for no apparent reason, just because he's got one of those Zodiac Stones that are all the rave.
- Tower Tycoon Palmer and Cynthia's new animated◊ sprites◊ in Pokémon Platinum.
- As well as Pryce's◊ in Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver
- Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness appear to have wind blasts going out from the center of the stadium in every direction.
- As well as Pryce's
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker has a lot of this, since its theme involves the wind anyway. In particular, Ganondorf sheds his typical armor for a kimono-like outfit with enormous sleeves that flap dramatically in the wind.
- The developers openly admitted that their main reason for setting The Wind Waker on an ocean, involving sailing, was, that they wanted to show of the Dramatic Wind-capabilities of the GameCube. Indeed, the cloth physics engine is still pretty impressive, although dated by today's standards.
- Vaati from The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap always has some wind blowing around him, no matter what, even indoors. Maybe justified, since he calls himself the "Wind Mage".
- Every time someone summons his or her Persona, the animation involves a circle of blue light appearing around them with accompanying dramatic updraft within that circle. The updraft continues into Persona 2, but was abandoned in later games as they went from sprites to 3D models.
- Main character Hotsuma of the 2002 version of Shinobi sports a red scarf that is easily twice as long as his body which flows behind him in perfect dramatic wind style.
- An example from Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow — Soma Cruz's trench-coat never stops billowing in the wind, no matter how still he's standing or where he is. It's the same in the sequel Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.
- The first Rayman game has this trope in the form of Mr. Dark, who seems to be a Coat, Hat, Mask with hands and feet. As he spies on the eponymous hero's progress from the top of a hill for most of the game, his cloak perpetually billows in the wind.
- Bang Shishigami of BlazBlue has his scarf that blows heroically behind him in the breeze no matter which way he's facing or even if he's indoors. Then again, it just... fits his character so well.
- Jude of Agarest Senki abuses this trope with flair. His scarf looks like it has a life on its own whenever he's in his idle animation, his Victory Pose, or his world avatar.
- In Marvel vs. Capcom 2, Gambit's cloak billows continually in his default sprite. Jin Saotome also has this in a Victory Pose.
- In Child of Light, Aurora's long red hair is always flowing in the wind. Even in areas without wind.
- In Sands of Destruction, there's always a good amount of wind blowing during your Victory Pose after every battle, even when you're indoors or underground.
- Fortune Summoners: Whenever Stella wins a fight, or finds a Mark of Heroism, she performs her Victory Pose, which starts off with her being blown by an unseen wind.
- Ghost of Tsushima: A game mechanic can be used to summon a gust of wind to point you to your objective or to points of interest. The in game cinematic photo mode also allows the player to customize wind for screenshots.
- Friday Night Funkin':
- During Week 3, a train occasionally passes by that blows The Girlfriend's hair sideways.
- As of the January 2021 update, everyone's hair constantly billows about during Week 4, which takes place on top of a moving limo.
Visual Novels
- Ace Attorney:
- It happens to Jake Marshall and Dahlia Hawthorne when you Pull the Thread on their testimonies. As in, inside a courtroom.
- In Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, when Kay starts to raise everyone's morale near the end, her scarf flaps in the wind. Inside a big hall where all exits lead to other rooms.
- The opening sequence of Dual Destinies. Skip to the end part of the video.
- In The Great Ace Attorney, Kazuma Asogi's headband is constantly flapping in the wind, regardless of where he's standing.
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice: The climax has Garan's royal guards be blown away by the power of dramatic wind, prompted by Apollo Justice's objection.
- In Tangle Tower, Flora Fellow's hair will occasionally blow ominously (in a way that partially obscures her own text box), usually when she's asked a particularly important or meaningful question. This is particularly notable because this is essentially her only real animation— otherwise, she stands almost perfectly still.
Web Comics
- El Goonish Shive used this for Susan and lampshaded in various places (e.g., "Badass Hair In The Wind effect with no wind is your friend"), and even has a Q&A episode featuring "hair manipulation fairies". Of course now that Susan's magical talent is mostly revealed, it's a bit more iffy...
- At the execution scene in Goblins, a pretty strong wind blows.
- In Impure Blood, Roan's Paper-Thin Disguise is defeated by one.
- Lady Noga, Wicked Witch of Sluggy Freelance, manages this even in Timeless Space.
Web Videos
- Suburban Knights: An awesome example of Real Life Writes the Plot. While the Chicago weather nearly forced the reviewers to stop filming, the constant wind of the Windy City made some scenes (especially the final battle) seem even more epic.
Western Animation
- Notably absent from early (or low-budget) computer animation. See No Flow in CGI.
- Avatar: The Last Airbender: Used occasionally, but justified in that most of the time it happens quite high in the air, where things are naturally breezier. For instance, in the Grand Finale, Aang and Ozai's clothes ripple in the breeze as they prepare for battle perhaps a hundred feet above the ground.
- The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes: Ms. Marvel's hair and scarf blow when she activates her powers, even indoors.
- King of the Hill: Whenever John Redcorn shares a Native American saying or story, it is accompanied by a breeze that moves through his hair, complete with mystical flute music appearing out of nowhere.
- The Powerpuff Girls: Mojo Jojo's cape always flows in the wind, no matter where he is.
- Molly of Denali: In the episode "Seal Dance," when the wind blows the door to the seismograph hut open while Molly, Nadia and Grandpa Nat are waiting out a storm, it causes a candle to flicker, which results in the shadow of Nadia's seal dance figurine to dance on the wall, inspiring her to imitate it.
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
- Whenever the Mane Six use the Elements of Harmony, a light breeze is blowing their manes and tails to the side.
- Twilight Sparkle has one scene during the Failure Song Season 3 Preview.
- In "The Mane Event", Coloratura briefly has one as she is singing the Equestria anthem at a talent show in Applejack's flashback.
- Phineas and Ferb: The show invokes this, when Ferb pulls out a large fan to blow some Dramatic Wind on Phineas when he's making a speach.
- Shuriken School: Overdone in the ninja-themed show.
- Summer Memories: Ronnie's hair is always blowing in the wind, whether he's indoors or outdoors, as indicated by the two perpetually-moving ends on the back of his head. If it isn't blowing, it's usually for various reasons, like his hair being wet. It seems to be a family trait, as his dad and sister do this too, as do his kids in the Distant Finale.
- Teen Titans (2003): Robin and Raven have their moments with this — justified as they're the only two members with a cape and cloak. Most notably was at the end of "The End" arc, which is a double-whammy: After saving both the world and Raven from the apocalypse, the two of them stand atop Titans Tower in the morning sun, and have a conversation as the wind blows:
Raven: How do you do it, Robin?
Robin: Do what?
Raven: Keep hoping. After everything that happened, everything I did, how did you still manage to hope it could all work out?
Robin: Because of you. You don't realize it, Raven, but you're actually the most hopeful person I've ever met. From the day you were born, they said you were evil — that you were created to do unspeakable things. But you wished for more. You dared to hope that you could be a hero.
Raven: I thought it was all over. And now... suddenly...
Robin: You have your whole life ahead of you. You can decide your own destiny. - Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?: Carmen's trench coat tends to always have a slight wind to rustle it, even indoors.
Real Life
- During the Hong Kong handover ceremony and the 2008 Olympics opening and closing ceremonies, China had powerful fans blowing on their flag(s) to ensure that they flapped straight out with pride.
- With the notable lack of wind, dramatic or otherwise, on the moon, the Apollo 11 astronauts had a crossbar in the flag to keep it out. Notably, the crossbar jammed briefly when activated on the moon, giving the flag a "billowing" look while it was extended that has haunted conspiracy theories since.
Non-Straight Examples
Advertising
- Parodied in this commercial for a Dutch energy company, which shows a dramatic wind following illusionist Hans Klok wherever he goes. The company tries to harness the wind energy, but the contract keeps blowing out the window before Klok can sign it.
- A British mobile phone ad has a family making a very dramatic photo for their dad's online dating profile. At one point, the daughter who's organising it shouts "Wind machine!" at which her sister points a leaf blower at him.
Asian Animation
- Happy Friends: Parodied. In Season 3 episode 1, Bao Shuai enters the room and his cape is blowing. Then a banana peel and a piece of paper blow on him, and the frame zooms out to reveal his assistant is blowing the wind onto him with a fan.
Anime & Manga
- Parodied in Excel♡Saga when Pedro faces off against Gomez: the wind blows a tumbleweed past... then three tumbleweeds... then a small army of them.
- Parodied in Magical Circle Guru-Guru , where Raid has monsters with fans specifically to produce this effect.
- Ouran High School Host Club:
- Lampshaded during a duel between Honey and his brother. "When did this dramatic wind-swept field get here?" (Paraphrased)
- Lampshaded again in the DVD commentary for the episode "Mori-Sempai Has an Apprentice Candidate!" by Travis Willingham not five minutes in. "DRAMATIC WIND!"
- Despite dramatic Wind being a staple in a Magical Girl series, Sailor Moon is the first one to lampshade this. In one episode, Serena/Usagi stands looking forlornly out on a windy autumn day, only to spoil the moment by sneezing and having her mother show up to admonish her that she'd catch her death of cold on such a windy day.
- Slayers has a spell, Diem Claw, the sole use of which is to make the user's cape billow dramatically even when there's no wind.
- Strike Man, a self-proclaimed defender of justice who is more of a nuisance than a help to the police protagonists in You're Under Arrest! likes to appear dramatically, posing on high places with dramatic wind blowing his cape... except that the wind is generated by a mini electric fan.
- Invoked in High School Star Musical when the main characters go to watch Tsukigami's older brother's photoshoot for the play he's in. They use a fan to create this effect in the photos, since he's playing a heroic king. The whole time, everyone's commenting on how handsome he is.
Fan Works
- Parodied in Neon Toppa EVA Lagann, where after a hospital-gown clad Kamina makes an absurd speech, "The wind from the open window suddenly picked up, blowing the hem of his hospital gown dramatically. Unfortunately the garment was then blown upward, revealing?well?the reason why his backside was feeling drafty, and making several spectators feel terribly inadequate."
- Those Lacking Spines lampshades this when descending from a height: "One improbable slow-falling swooshy-coat and hair dramatic landing on their feet later, our heroes found themselves deep in the basement of the Second Darkest Tower."
- Sailor Venus of, like, Sailor Moon Abridged has "Revlon Wind", which, like, makes her look so totally hot, okay!
Films — Animation
- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs has Flint's labcoat billowing towards the beginning of the movie. The commentary reveals that the idea was that Flint has a fan offscreen to make his life seem more dramatic.
- In Shark Tale, Oscar shows up to his staged fight against Lenny wearing a cape that billows dramatically in the wind — and then gets blown over his head, forcing him to remove it.
Films — Live-Action
- Spoofed (as you might expect) in the poster for the 2008 version of Get Smart: a dramatic wind is blowing, but all it's serving to do is (a) blow one character's tie in front of another one's face (b) blow the female lead's hair in the face of the third character and (c) force the third character to hold his gun in a Pistol Pose which blocks out the fourth character's face.
- Parodied in Shaolin Soccer: The destitute monks have a Misfit Mobilization Moment where they dramatically assemble on a rooftop in slow motion, but their badass posturing is undercut by their shabby appearance. One monk wears a threadbare bathrobe, which flourishes in a gust of wind as if he were wearing a Badass Longcoat.
- In Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Judge Doom's Black Cloak is always fluttering in the breeze even when he's indoors — as one of the many visual clues that he's not the human he pretends to be.
Live-Action TV
- Smallville: When Lois Lane is briefly the superhero "Stiletto", she brought along a fan to do this for her photo.
- NTSF:SD:SUV::: Parodied in the intro, which shows the standard Team Shot with the female cop on the team with dramatic wind before it pans out to show a crew member with a leaf blower aimed at her.
Literature
- Discworld:
- Parodied in Terry Pratchett's book A Hat Full of Sky, where a young witch purchases an expensive cloak designed to blow and flutter dramatically in even the lightest of breezes.
- Susan gets Dramatic Wind in Thief of Time, when using her Death voice to get Lobsang's attention. Of course, being who she is, she can alter reality to suit herself.
- Pratchett also did something similar in his pre-Discworld novel Strata. A character's cape is mentioned as having small electrical charges pulsed through it every few seconds, keeping it in a state of permanent dramatic flutter.
- In Fool Moon, the 2nd book of The Dresden Files, Harry is slightly annoyed by the fact he isn't wearing his duster (a coat regularly described as like something off the set of El Dorado) so it could billow dramatically as he stepped through a large hole he had just blasted in a wall.
- Also parodied in Life, the Universe and Everything, the third The Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy novel. Ford Prefect makes a portentous announcement: "He gazed keenly into the distance and looked as if he would quite like the wind to blow his hair back dramatically at that point, but the wind was busy fooling around with some leaves a little way off."
- Averted, unfortunately, for poor Schmendrick the Magician in The Last Unicorn. He has no convenient wind to billow his cloak, so he has to swirl it around manually to get the desired effect.
- Parodied in the third Artemis Fowl, The Eternity Code. As Artemis and crew arrive in Chicago John Spiro's coat blows dramatically in the downdraft from the helicopter. The narrator remarks that "it was all very cinematic."
- Shree, a wind sprite, mocks this trope in the Shadowleague trilogy, and her partner Elion mentions that she tends to blow up out of nowhere at dramatic moments.
- In L. Jagi Lamplighter's Prospero Regained, this happens when Gregory gives a blessing while they are in Hell. Explicitly pointed out that it doesn't happen on earth.
Manhwa
- In Demon Diary, this trope is lampshaded when Raenef comments that Demon Lord Krayon's cape is blowing when there's no wind. The wind then dies down and the Demon Lord admits to commanding wind spirits to create the wind for dramatic effect.
Tabletop Games
- Mutants & Masterminds has a section on 1-point powers called Features, one of which is Dramatic Wind on command.
- Parodied (of course) in Paranoia, where antagonist Botman employs strategically placed fans (not to mention an entire special effects crew) in an attempt to look impressive.
Video Games
- Illustrated and parodied at the end of the trailer for Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth.
- Parodied in the quest "Minimum Safe Distance" in Billy vs. SNAKEMAN, when one character holds a fan up to another character who is making a dramatic speech.
- In Skullgirls, one of Filia's victory poses has her letting her hair blow in the wind. Another one has Samson, the Parasite in her hair, take a human form... while Filia blows in the wind.
- Papyrus from Undertale can apparently summon this merely by posing heroically. It never seems to affect any bystanders either; it's just so that his scarf can blow in a dramatic fashion.
Web Animation
- Homestar Runner:
- Parodied: Strong Bad's alter ego Stinko Man is an anime/Mega Man-styled character with blue hair that is always blowing in a nonexistent wind.
- Another of Strong Bad's personas, First Lieuteneral Space Captainface, also gets a nice breeze whenever he appears. When appearing in person as Space Captainface, Strong Bad goes so far as to bring a fan with him, as seen in Career Day.
Web Comics
- The Adventures of Dr. McNinja lampshades this in the Punch Dracula arc. A politician (who is secretly a ghost wizard) has a dude set up fans behind some flags, so the wave in the wind during his speech. These fans are used against him to make a tidal wave, where he is picked up in a submarine, where he promptly gets the undead shit beat out him by the McNinjas and Gordito.
- An antagonist in Sarab invokes this with his powers.
- Parodied in Tsunami Channel's Experimental Comic Kotone, where the characters play with it to make wind blow inside buildings and lighting strike without clouds
- In Nip and Tuck, it wins an argument, except it isn't the wind.
- Awkward Zombie: Parodied in a comic where Ricken asks Chrom how his cape billows dramatically even when there's no wind. Chrom is horrified to find out his cape is the only one that does that, and demands everyone else get their capes billowing.
"Are you people even trying?"
- Spoofed and exaggerated in Pocket Princesses, wherein Pocahontas' famous "Colors of the Wind" is described as her most annoying habit.
Western Animation
- Invoked in Futurama when Zapp Brannigan is giving his dramatic speech to the DOOP tribunal,
Zapp Brannigan: Kiff, hold up that flag for me... and wave it a little for God sake.
- King of the Hill: In one episode Joseph steals "The Bugabago" (Dale's van) to go "wherever 1/8 of a tank of gas will take him". In a parody of generic romantic scenes, Connie runs out and asks to go with, complete with the dramatic wind blowing her hair.
- Every time John Redcorn talks about "his people", a sudden breeze from out of nowhere starts blowing his hair.
- Parodied in an episode of Freakazoid!. At one point, The Lobe was standing indoors making a rant with full dramatic wind. The camera then zoomed out to show a fan specially set up to achieve this effect.
- Tiny Toon Adventures: Plucky Duck parodies it in "The Return of the Toxic Revenger", where he does his dramatic intro, notices a lack of this trope and goes offscreen to turn on a giant fan. Him being an expy of Daffy Duck, of course it switches itself to maximum power and blows him away.
- Parodied in an episode of Danny Phantom where Danny is split into his "superhero" side and his "normal teen" side. The superhero side constantly has his hair and bedsheet cape blowing in a nonexistant wind.
- Lightly parodied in Undergrads: when the hero's love interest shows up, there is a light breeze playing with her hair. They are indoors.
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
- Princess Celestia seems to have it built into her hair, as does her sister Princess Luna from Season 2 onward.
- It seems to be tied to magical power, since Celestia's hair stops flowing after she gets defeated by Chrysalis, and Princess Cadance (who usually has regular hair) briefly gets this when she administers a Heart Beatdown with Shining Armor.
- The Rainbow-Powered Mane Six's manes also do this.
- Tenzin from The Legend of Korra is prone to reflexively airbending when annoyed, causing the robes and cape he almost always wears to billow dramatically. It's occasionally played straight, but far more commonly done for humour value.