History Main / ClassicalElementsEnsemble

** Homura is a no-nonsense girl whose own outfit consists of a dull-colored variation on her school outfit and even her powers are more about practicality than anything fitting. Hell, instead of using a signature weapon she just steals bombs and grenades. [[spoiler: She also has been stubbornly stuck in the same GroundHogDayLoop for over twenty years, and is rendered helpless once she ends up on the ground, her leg stuck under rubble]].

* Even though it's not overtly visible in their powers, the main characters from ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'' form one, with Mami representing Air, Homura representing Earth, Kyouko representing Fire, Sayaka representing Water and Madoka being ElementNumber5. To wit:

** Madoka being ElementNumber5 isn't apparent until the very end, where, after having witnessed all of the above events as a bystander, she realizes the truth about wishes and [[spoiler: avoids falling into the pitfalls of the others by making a thought-out, truly selfless wish that makes her able of eradicating her own witch form (thus also [[RetCon erasing herself from this plane]]) and facing the truth as it is]].

** ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'': The villain team the Masters of Disaster features characters with water, earth, air, heat, and cold powers.

** ''Batman/Superman: World's Finest'' features a group of medieval Chinese heroes who possess the powers of earth, air, fire, and water.

[[folder: Real Life]]
* The Earth is made up of the core and mantle (fire), the crust and the biosphere ([[ShapedLikeItself earth]]), the oceans, bodies of freshwater, and ice ([[CaptainObvious water]]), and the atmosphere and magnetosphere (air).
[[/folder]]

* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder'': The four Powerups available loosely follow the trope of the four elements. There's the Fire Flower (throws fireballs, self-explanatory), the Elephant Fruit (can store water in its trunk), the Bubble Flower (creates bubbles, which are full of air) and the Drill Mushroom (which lets you burrow through the earth).

* In ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'', four of the new alien forms Ben obtains have these powers: Water Hazard (water), Terraspin (wind), [=NRG=] (fire), and Armadrillo (earth). [[ElementNumberFive The fifth one]], Ampfibian has lighting, though this one is a case of LightningCanDoAnything.

So a five person group in which 4 people align with water, fire, earth, and air, while the fifth has powers, personalities, and motifs (elemental or [[CosmicMotifs cosmic]]) linked to one of the above also counts. Because LightIsGood and an IdealHero is often an AllLovingHero, this fifth character is very likely to be the hero and TheLeader if the ensemble is a formal team and the work follows the heavens/sky, cosmic, or life energy interpretations.

The second variation comes from the fact that though most takes on the classical elements have the usual suspects of fire, water, earth, and air, several also include an '''ElementNumberFive'''. What this is ''exactly'' depends on which cultural interpretation you follow, but broadly speaking it was thought to be the substance that fills the space outside of the earth and from which the stars and other celestial bodies were created from. This has been translated into the following natural elements (with the most common interpretations of that element attached):

[[caption-width-right:300:Before [[LightningCanDoAnything Quintessence]] came along, [[TheLeader Will]] got [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway the short end of the stick]].]]

* In ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'', the three Elements of Light that sustain the forest of Nibel; Winds, Waters, and Warmth; are associated with three of the four Western classical elements (Wind, Water, and Fire), while the Spirit Tree, who regulates their power and oversees Nibel as a whole, represents Earth.

* In ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'', the four regions that Ori travels to in order to recover the Wisps have elemental associations. The Luma Pools are ostensibly Water, the caverns of Mouldwood Depths are Earth, the icy peak of Baur's Reach is associated with Wind, and the Windswept Wastes have Fire aesthetics.

** Mistral is associated with water. She's named after a wind that heads into the Mediterranean, her theme song describes adrift at sea, her fighting style is the most graceful and fluid out of the Winds, and [[spoiler:she's killed when Raiden freezes her in liquid nitrogen and shatters her]].

** The Witches 5 from the [[Anime/SailorMoon first anime]]'s ''S'' season also follow this theme. Eudial is Fire, with her red outfit, hair, and eyes, and she fights with a flamethrower. Mimete uses sonicwaves to attack linking her to air. Tellu is Earth, with her green hair, eyes, and transformation outfit; she uses plants and vines to extract hearts and attacks. Viluy is Water: she has icy blue hair, eyes, and uniform when she transforms and uses a weapon that dissolves her enemites. Finally Cyprine, with her SpaceMaster ability to teleport people into a pocket dimension, stands in for space.

* ''Literature/SaikyouJuzokuTensei'': The [[EvilGod Four Great Gods of Creation]] have this as a theme, with each one having ElementalPowers over an element. Levi is a [[FishPeople Fish Person]] and LordOfTheOcean and can control water. Maharbo was a {{fire god}}des so she naturally has fire powers. Garuuja was animalistic in form to link him to being closer to nature and representing earth. Silfheim had the form of a [[{{Kaiju}} huge dragon]], and could [[BlowYouAway create tornados]] at will.

* ''Literature/SaikyouJuzokuTensei'': The Four Great Gods of Creation have this theming, each one having ElementalPowers over an element. Levi is a [[FishPeople Fish Person]] and LordOfTheOcean and can control water. Mahalvo is a FireGod so he naturally has fire poers. Garuuja is animalistic in form to link him to being closer to nature and representing earth. Silfheim can [[BlowYouAway create tornados]] at will.

Apart from the easy theming, this trope sees a lot of usage because it gives each person a distinct aesthetic, personality, and role in the group, while also having baked in interpersonal dynamics to explore. See FourTemperamentEnsemble, FireWaterJuxtaposition, and EarthWindJuxtaposition for more on that. Expect each member to have ElementalPersonalities and be [[ColorCodedCharacters color-coded]] in line with [[ColorCodedElements their elements]], with ElementalEyeColors and ElementalHairColors.

Characters having ElementalPowers matching their element is one of the most common ways this trope is used. That said, non-powered characters who just have ElementalMotifs are also acceptable. If the team is mixed gender, it is not unusual for [[FireIsMasculine fire to be a man]] and [[WaterIsWomanly water to be a woman]] (often the [[TheSmurfettePrinciple sole woman]]), though this is by no means a strict rule.

A Classical Element Ensemble is a team or group of people in which each character is associated with one of the classical elements. The classical elements are a specific subset of the NaturalElements, typically composed of '''fire''', '''water''', '''earth''', or '''air'''. So the standard ensemble is a team of four with each person aligned with either fire, water, earth, or air.

Besides the standard ensemble, there are two variations, both of which create a FiveManBand. The Chinese variation follows the Chinese version of the classical elements, which air is not a part of it. Wood and metal are used instead, each with their own associated powers (typically GreenThumb and ExtraOreDinary), qualities, and roles distinct to them (though wind is often associated with wood).

* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing'': According to an [[AllThereInTheManual artbook]] by mecha designer Kunio Okawara, the five Gundams each had an elemental association with them during the design process. The quick and stealthy Deathscythe represents air, the walking arsenal Heavyarms represents fire, the desert-themed and heavily armored Sandrock represents earth, and the martial arts-themed Shenlong represents water. The book doesn't list an elemental association for Wing, but since it's the JackOfAllStats among the five it aligns with the quintessence.

* In ''Manga/SoulHunter'', the Four Saints of Kuryuujima have elemental Paopei invoking the four classical elements: Kongenjuu (Coalescence Bead) summon and manipulate seawater, Hekichijuu (Earth-splitting Bead) can move and shape massive amounts of dirt, Bankojuu (Yellow Strikes Bead) allows the user to fly freely in the air, dodge any incoming attack and shoot light beams, while the Kaitenjuu (Heaven-opening Bead) can cause fiery explosions.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers'': The five members have the powers of earth, fire, wind, water, and... [[WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway heart]].
* Among the many unicorns in ''WesternAnimation/MiaAndMe'' are the four Element Unicorns, the Water Unicorn, the Wind Unicorn, the Earth Unicorn, and the Fire Unicorn.