History Main / AttackTheTail

* In ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'', Frieza's biggest BerserkButton is having is ''anything'' happen to his tail. There's a reason why he provides the page's quote.

** The resurrected Gomora in ''Series/UltramanMax'' get its tail sliced off by the Max Slugger, in a CallBack to the first Gomora. Said tail gains a life on its own however and blocks MAx's FInishingMove on Gomora necessiting Max to try another strategy.

** Gomora from ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'' is dishing out a CurpStompBattle on Ultraman, until the SSP blasts its tail off, allowing Ultraman to turn the battle around.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* The Saurians in ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'' have tails that can be cut off.
* The Serapede in ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' is an EliteMook that is mostly invincible with the exception of its weak point: the tail.
* [[SandWorm Drillium]] from ''VideoGame/GridWarrior'' could be damaged in the head or the glowing weak spot that is its tail, but its tail is the only part that lacks DamageReduction armor.

*** The wolfos, humanoid wolf-like creatures; they can be attacked in other ways, but an attack in the tail kills them instantly. They even cover their tails with their hands if you aren't quick about it.
*** The other example is Twinmold, two giant centipedes; their only weak points are the head and the tail.

* One of the penultimate tactics in the ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' games against any big monster with a tail is to attack the tail enough that it gets cut off/cracked/broken, among other parts of their body. Doing so rewards you with more rare items and creates more openings in the monster's defenses (like their tail attack's range get shorter, or they flinch more when an attack hits their tail stump.)
* [[BigBad Fortinbras]] from ''VideoGame/OnimushaWarlords'' is normally invulnerable, forcing you to hack at his serpentine, coiled tail. After a certain amount of damage is dealt, Fortinbras will roar in pain and fall forward, allowing you to attack the boss' weakpoint, the eye on his head.

* In ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'''s [[MultiMookMelee Salmon Run]] mode, this is the [[AttackItsWeakPoint key]] to defeating three types of [[MiniBoss Boss Salmonids]] that players will encounter:

* ''Franchise/StarFox''
** In ''VideoGame/StarFox'', the tail was one of two ways to damage Monarch Dodora, the other being its two heads. Just shooting it doesn't do damage, though, you needed to make them retract into its body, then shoot the body.
** In ''VideoGame/StarFoxAdventures'', the boss Galdon is only vulnerable at his red-glowing tail
** In ''VideoGame/StarFoxAssault'', hitting a character's head or tail does additional damage. Especially Fox and Krystal are vulnerable to tail hits.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' and [[VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2 its sequel]] both have Dino Piranha bosses that Mario can defeat only by attacking the bulb at the end of their tail, knocking it up to strike their head.
** A variation occurs with Peewee Piranha in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', where you must hit its butt.
** Also, [[BigBad Bowser]] from ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'', who is actually defeated by being grabbed by the tail and being thrown across the arena.
* The [[CreepyCentipedes Crawltipedes]] in ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'' can only be damaged in the glowing spot in their tail.

* Whoo boy, the ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' ''loves'' this trope. If a monster has a tail which it uses for executing a TailSlap, chances are that it will be severed after a lengthy battle against the Ultra. This happens with Gomora from ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'', Neosauraus from ''Series/UltramanDyna'', the resurrected Gomora in ''Series/UltramanMax'' in a CallBack to the first Gomora, Maga-orochi from ''Series/UltramanOrb'', Segmeger from ''Series/UltramanTaiga'' among various others.

* ''VideoGame/{{Shantae}} and the Pirate's Curse'' has the Steel Maggot, a large, mechanical boss that is completely impervious to damage, save for a [[AttackItsWeakPoint weak point]] that pops out of its tail after meeting certain conditions.

* Near the end, ''WesternAnimation/{{Kitbull}}'' has the kitten pounce on and repeatedly bite the pit bull's tail. He manages to get it out of her mouth and playfully DopeSmack her on the head to get her to stop it.

[[quoteright:350:[[WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/attack_the_tail.jpg]]]]

* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/TheJungleBook'', Mowgli actually defeats [[BigBad Shere Khan]] by literally burning off his tail using a tree branch that apparently caught fire as a result of it being hit by lightning. Unfortunately, it's revealed in the sequel that this was actually a bad idea, and [[KnightOfCerebus Mowgli learned it the hard way]]. Similarly, Kaa is often defeated by having his tail being tied to a tree trunk.

** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'', the miniboss Syger (the rolling tiger) has to be hit in the tail.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', in order to defeat Ganon, Link must strike at its tail in order to weaken it enough to reach its head for the finishing blow. Ganon can turn quickly to hide its tail, so Link must stun it using various means, or just roll under its legs.
*** In the N64 generation, Dodongos can only be killed if Link attacks their tails or throws a bomb at them. They later return with this vulnerability in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'', though you're also given the option of shooting an arrow into their mouth.

** Also in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'', Frieza's tail is cut off by a stray attack during the final fight against Jiren.

** Goku does this by biting Frieza's tail during their fight on Namek, and he does the same thing to Beerus's tail in Anime/DragonBallSuper.

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'': In "Showdown", Splinter defeats Xever/Fishface by duping him into chomping on his own tail.

* Whoo boy, the ''Franchise/UltraSeries'' ''loves'' this trope. If a monster has a tail which it uses for executing a TailSlap, chances are that it will be severed after a lengthy battle against the Ultra. This happens with Gomora from ''Series/{{Ultraman}}'', Neosauraus from ''Series/UltramanDyna'', the resurrected Gomora in ''Series/UltramanMax'' in a CallBack to the first Gomora, ''Maga-orochi from ''Series/UltramanOrb'', Segmeger from ''Series/UltramanTaiga'' among various others.

* Cats will often do this when play-fighting, often with one cat flicking its tail around and another swatting at it. Particularly common with kittens.