History Main / KillingIntent

** The hunters are able to detect killing intent (i.e. when someone is about to strike), presumably due to their training, combat experience and superhuman capabilities.
--->''Kyril looked at the entryway to the bar. "Well now..." Kyril said quietly to himself. All four of his [[TheApprentice Hunters]] looked to him but Lily sensed it first, the cloying aura of killing intent.''

* Reinhard's presence from ''VisualNovel/DiesIrae'' is so intense and overwhelming that, even when he appears as a mere hologram-like shade of himself, he makes people like Bey and Schreiber, who have never experienced fear in their lives, shake at their knees. When he first appears in person like this in the common route, both Ren and Kei freeze up like someone hit an off-switch on them.

** While he's training Ichigo, Urahara points how how Ichigo lacks resolve and is instead consumed by fear and doubt. He them gives him a little pep talk about how, unless he can cast off his fear and muster the resolve to defeat his enemies and protect his allies, he's going to get himself killed. Ichigo takes the lesson to heart and matches Urahara's killing intent with his own, earning the latter's approval. Onlookers comment on how their [[EmpathicWeapon Zanpakuto]] are resonating with their killing intent and crying out how they "can't wait to cut each other down".

* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' the force of [[BloodKnight Kenpachi Zaraki]]'s killing intent causes Ichigo to hallucinate that he is being stabbed as he approaches.

* A case of “Killing intent vs Killing intent” is matching the hostile vibes the other person is emitting. To a third party (you or another person),it will come off as intense. In a way it’s the equivalent of a stare down you see in MMA fighting leagues.

** A more subtle example shows up in the second major arc. Thorfinn, in the middle of a years long '''major''' HeroicBSOD, doesn't move an inch and stoically endures numerous minor cuts and wounds from an outlaw nicknamed "Fox". Fox doesn't intend to kill Thorfinn (yet), he wants to scare Thorfinn, and between his depression and sensing the lack of serious killing intent Thorfinn makes no response to Fox's attacks, even when Fox slices off part of Thorfinn's ear. Moments later Fox's boss "Snake", after stopping Fox, apologizing for Fox's deeds, and seeming like an all around around nice guy, takes a second to draw up some truly serious killing intent and takes a swipe at Thorfinn. Thorfinn reacts instinctively by dodging the blow and defending himself, shocking even himself as he did it completely unconsciously and his brain didn't catch up to his body's reaction until it was over. Snake laughs and points out that as miserable as Thorfinn feels, the fact that he's instinctually trying to defend himself against someone with actual killing intent means that some part of his subconscious hasn't given up on life yet.

* Present for one moment of ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'', when [[OldMaster LisaLisa]] is about to fight [[BigBad Kars]], and notes that she can't detect his Killing Intent. [[spoiler:[[WorthyOpponent Despite his earlier claims]], [[SubvertedTrope he never intended to fight her fairly]] for the Macguffin, and instead has a mook ambush her mid fight while he hides, so he can attack her from behind, claim the Macguffin, then sic his zombie army on Joseph.]]

* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', [[ChurchMilitant Vento of the Front]]'s "Divine Punishment" causes anyone in the world who aims hostility at her to be knocked unconscious unless protected by powerful magic. [[MadScientist Amata Kihara]] is immune to its effects due to being a {{Sociopath}} who can murder people without feeling any hostility towards them at all, comparing it to pulling up weeds.
* In ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', Sōsuke's past as a {{child soldier|s}} has given him the ability to sense killing intent, which he uses to set traps for assassins targeting him. This was also used to torment him. [[spoiler:One of Mithril's agents would observe him via the scope of a rifle, and find that Sōsuke actually got visually agitated when he did this. It's implied that much of Sōsuke's misbehavior in school is caused by him sensing the agent's killing intent without being able to tell where it's coming from, causing him to lash out against people nearby.]]

* In ''LightNovel/Overlord2012'', [[BattleButler Sebas]] can control his Killing Intent with incredible strength and precision, to the point where he can stare into a group of hardened warriors and reduce one of them to a gibbering wreck without alerting the others. Normal people exposed to his Killing Intent could literally die of fright. At one point Sebas even uses this as a form of TrainingFromHell, teaching Climb a [[SuperReflexes "mental overclock"]] ability by having him experience what it's like to be a hair away from death.

* Lina Inverse of ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' has been known to use this to tell when somebody's sneaking up behind her in a fight. Gourry and Zelgadiss may also be capable of it - they've been known to react to attacks they couldn't have seen coming.

* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' refers to the ability to sense killing intent from monsters in the game as "Hypersense", which may or may not actually exist.

* ''FanFic/MegamiNoHanabira'': Demons sense and run off of this: [[ThePowerOfHate the more murderous their master feels]], the more effectively they will fight.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8510543/9/Alternate-Beginnings-of-an-Uzumaki A Different Type of Anger]]'', Naruto manifests killing intent strong enough for the Sand-Sound Invasion to never happen as everyone present was either paralyzed with terror or just desperately wanted to go home. It's explicitly stated that said killing intent is entirely Naruto and has nothing to do with Kurama.

** Killing intent is actually the entire reason your attacks damage monsters at all, as monsters are weak to strong negative emotions (being made of magic and all). As a result, bosses in a No Mercy run tend to be {{One Hit Kill}}ed. Conversely, in a PacifistRun, when Undyne challenges you to a rematch during her "date", you'll deal only 1 damage whether you use the "Fake Hit" command or Fight her for real, because to even get to this point you have to go out of your way to never kill anyone.

* In ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'' people are terrified of Maine when she's angry, which comes as a surprise because she's the size of a toddler and in poor health. She isn't even malicious in her 'revenge.' It turns out that she has a lot of mana in her body which is released when she gets angry, which manifests as an aura that causes fear and intimidation to those near her, meaning she lets off a killing intent without any intent to kill.

** Killing intent is actually the entire reason your attacks damage monsters at all, as monsters are weak to strong negative emotions (being made of magic and all). As a result, bosses in a [[KillEmAll No Mercy run]] tend to be {{One Hit Kill}}ed. Conversely, in a PacifistRun, when Undyne challenges you to a rematch during her "date", you'll deal only 1 damage whether you use the "Fake Hit" command or Fight her for real, because to even get to this point you have to go out of your way to never kill anyone.

* ''Anime/DeathParade'' gives us two examples in episode 8. The [[OneShotCharacter guests]] are both murderers who have already killed their respective victims, but don’t remember anything about it. When they finally recall their IntentToKill, their body language and expression change so drastically that they both notice and comment on the other’s behavior.

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[[quoteright:350:[[Manga/MyHeroAcademia https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/killing_intent_stain.png]]]]

* In the manga version of ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'', Zero arrives at a hilltop near the Kagikira Forest just a few moments after X has slain the murderous Repliforce sub-commander Web Spider and saved a city from being destroyed by him. Then, the Reploid Magma Dragoon suddenly appears behind Zero, surprising him. Zero pulls out his saber and asks what Dragoon wants from him, but the latter merely tells him to calm down and says he has no interest in fighting Zero. Zero is cautious as he feels an aura emanating from Dragoon, but nonetheless apologizes and puts his saber away. Dragoon then walks past him, and Zero notices in shock that Dragoon has killing intent. They both part ways without fighting however, as it is ultimately X who piques Dragoon's interest for a battle, not Zero.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' most experienced ninjas can explicitly use killing intent, and [[http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Killing_Intent using it to paralyse enemies]] is a recognised strategy (most famously used by Orochimaru, and the first clash between [[{{BFS}} Zabuza]] and [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass Kakashi]]). This ability explicitly does not use [[{{Mana}} chakra]].

* The martial artists in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' can sense if someone is about to attack them. Ranma is so good, he sometimes dodges attacks in his ''sleep''. Unfortunately for Ryōga, his "danger sense" is also [[TheExitIsThatWay affected]] by his terrible sense of direction.
* Present for one moment of ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureBattleTendency'', when [[OldMaster LisaLisa]] is about to fight [[BigBad Kars]], and notes that she can't detect his Killing Intent. [[spoiler: [[WorthyOpponent Despite his earlier claims]], [[SubvertedTrope he never intended to fight her fairly]] for the Macguffin, and instead has a mook ambush her mid fight while he hides, so he can attack her from behind, claim the Macguffin, then sic his zombie army on Joseph.]]
* ''Manga/OnePiece''
** This is one of the functions of Haki: people with Conqueror's Haki are able to OneHitKO scores of {{Mooks}} through the strength of their ambition. Zoro does this as well. His "Kiki Kyutoryu: Asura" is said by Kaku to be a illusory manifestation of his killing intent.
** Hawk-Eye Mihawk is introduced with his monstrous glare that can make anyone freeze up in terror, at point even Luffy, who has a will that can best be described as [[{{Determinator}} indomitable]] is stopped in his tracks when he meets Mihawk's gaze. While it's likely to be Haki, it's never been confirmed if he has Conquerer's Haki, meaning it may just legitimately just be his glare is ''that'' intimdating.
* In ''Manga/LoneWolfAndCub'', every half-way decent martial artist possesses this ability. One memorable story played with the trope, when Ogami Ittō's target was a monk whose ''lack'' of killing intent was so strong that it would reflect the intent of attackers back on themselves; not even Ogami could overcome it at first. After meditating and learning how to kill without emitting killing intent, Ogami returns to finish the job. (The priest compliments Ittō on his accomplishment ''[[DiagonalCut after]]'' [[YouAreAlreadyDead being split from scalp to sternum]].)
* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' uses this, while [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane leaving it ambiguous whether it's based on Ki or just body language]]. The only time Kenshin had significant trouble fighting against someone of a (slightly) lower skill level was Soujirou, whose combination of being a StepfordSmiler and super speedster made him both difficult to read and difficult to react to. Additionally, swordsmen of high enough caliber generate BattleAura that can cause minor destruction.
* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' this is how Riza [[spoiler:figures out that Selim Bradley is actually the homunculus Pride.]]
** Later, Kimblee figures out he's being lured into a trap because he can feel the killing intent of the snipers nearby.
* One of the many appliances of Nen in ''Manga/HunterXHunter''. It's worth noting that people unprotected by their own aura could potentially die or suffer serious psychological trauma if they were to be attacked by a strong enough killing intent.
** At one point in the Chimera Ant arc, Knov sneaks into the enemy base, only to catch a glimpse of a malevolent aura pouring out from deeper within. He mistakenly thinks it's Neferpitou's aura, when it's actually Shaiapouf's. Nonetheless, he's so terrified just by seeing how malicious that aura is that he suffers a breakdown over the fear of what torture the Chimera Ants could subject him to if they captured him.
* For a split second in ''Manga/{{Murcielago}}'', right before Kuroko gets serious with fighting Yukari, Yukari sees a vision of a multi-armed skeleton tangled around her with a scythe around her neck and Kuroko's trademark giant tongue sticking out of its mouth.

* A silly example in ''Webcomic/OnePunchMan'', where [[UltimateLifeform Carnage Kabuto]]'s combat instincts cause him to see the protagonist [[ArtShift with heavy shading]] and [[BattleAura surrounded by dark flames]]... but he's still drawn in [[NonstandardCharacterDesign a simple style]] and with a baffled expression.
** At first [[FakeUltimateHero King]] seems to have this effect on monsters even accompanied by a [[BrownNote thumping sound said to be King's immense willpower preparing for battle]] [[spoiler:Although it's revealed later that it's just his heart beating from his own incredible fear of whatever he's facing.]]
** Played straight with [[HeroKiller Garou]] later on during his fight with Tanktop Master [[spoiler:Although it's revealed in the Webcomic that Garou never actually intended on killing any of the heroes he hunts]]
* Martial artists in ''Manga/AngelDensetsu'' are constantly amazed at being unable to sense [[FaceOfAThug Kitano's]] killing intent. They always assume he is so skilled that he can hide this, instead of realizing he has [[ActualPacifist less anger than an angel]].
* In ''Manga/{{Monster}}'', the eponymous SerialKiller is so evil that he can terrify people [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/monster_killingintent_350w_9552.png just by being in the same part of the building.]]
* In ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'', every martial artist senses or projects killing intent at one time or another. On at least one occasion, Sakaki has blown away an entire room of people. And with disciple-level fighters it can be used to make the opponent lock up and break their focus.
* In ''Manga/{{Basilisk}}'' the Dojitsu is an ability that can turn an attacker's killing intent back on them, leading to the would-be assailant violently attacking themselves.
* ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'' has killing intent manifest as monstrous {{Animal Battle Aura}}s known as "Intimidations".

* Nagisa from ''Manga/AssassinationClassroom'' can freely intimidate or paralyze his opponents by emitting killing intent. He once used it, along with a single (theoretically nonthreatening) sentence and a calm smile, to send middle-school bullies home in tears; he's also used it in combat to [[OhCrap scare the living daylights]] out of elite, trained government special ops soldiers. For the record, Nagisa is a small, kindhearted, fairly unremarkable middle school student in a bottom-rank class, and is so physically dainty that he's [[DudeLooksLikeALady been mistaken for a girl several times]]. It should be noted that his killing intention is more of a natural talent. It is commented that he is born with talent at the wrong era. Had time been different, he would have been an assassin without equal.
* ''Anime/DragonBallSuper'': Beerus says that he has a refined ability to detect a person's killing intent (which is distinct from ki in general), as part of his powerset as the God of Destruction. [[spoiler:He uses this to judge that Zamasu truly does intend to kill his mentor Gowasu, though he doesn't take the killing intent as proof and confirms his suspicions before taking action.]]

* Deconstructed in ''Anime/PsychoPass''. Having a LackOfEmpathy is ''illegal'', and can lock you out of most jobs... but if LackOfEmpathy upgrades to Killing Intent, the cops gain instant authorization to use lethal force with no repercussions or oversight. And an adrenaline rush counts as Killing Intent, regardless of ''why'' you're having an adrenaline rush, [[UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming which often leads cops to execute the people they just saved from dangerous murderers]].
* This is the implied reason Bando from ''Manga/ElfenLied'' is able to sense and predict Lucy's [[CombatTentacles vectors]] even when he has no prior experience (or even knowledge) of what a Diclonius is capable of: Lucy's immense hatred for humanity and desire to wipe them out bleeds into her vectors, which are otherwise invisible and selectively-tangible. Bando can't see her vectors directly, but due to his combat training and own [[BloodKnight love of life-and-death combat,]] he can get a sense of when and where Lucy's attacks are coming from.
* Shows up repeatedly in ''Manga/VinlandSaga''.
** The most notable example is probably when [[BloodKnight Thorkell]] gets hyped for a fight and his opponent [[https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/vsbattles/images/4/42/Thorkell.jpg visualizes his killing intent thusly.]][[spoiler:Said opponent never even gets to lift his weapon; his mind breaks from sensing Thorkell's killing intent and he spends the rest of the series as a vegetable.]]
** A more subtle example shows up in the second major arc. Thorfinn, in the middle of a years long '''major''' HeroicBSOD, doesn't move an inch and stoically endures numerous minor cuts and wounds from an outlaw nicknamed "Fox". Fox doesn't intend to kill Thorfinn (yet), he wants to scare Thorfinn, and between his depression and sensing the lack of serious killing intent Thorfinn makes no response to Fox's attacks, even when Fox slices off part of Thorfinn's ear. Moments later Fox's boss "Snake", after stopping Fox, apologizing for Fox's deeds, and seeming like an all around around nice guy, takes a second to draw up some truly serious killing intent and takes a swipe at Thorfinn. Thorfinn reacts instinctively by dodging the blow and defending himself, shocking even himself as he did it completely unconsciously and his brain didn't catch up to his body's reaction until it was over. Snake laughs and points out that as miserable as Thorfinn feels, the fact that he's instinctually trying to defend himself against someone with actual killing intent means that some part of his subconscious hasn't given up on life yet.
* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' [[spoiler:Stain]] shows evidence of this after [[spoiler:being captured by Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki during the Field Training Arc - he escapes, kills the Nomu trying to abduct Midoriya, and declares that [[{{Determinator}} the only hero worthy of killing him is All Might]]. Even Endeavor, the #2 Hero, is [[DeerInTheHeadlights frozen in his tracks]] during this declaration]]. The anime represents this by having black fog with a reddish tint envelop everyone present, with glowing red eyes appearing over them as [[spoiler:Stain finishes his speech. Note, this character already had a different ability established, which means this ''wasn't a power''. He made everyone present freeze with utter terror from sheer ''force of will''.]]

** Eventually [[spoiler: Shigaraki]] develops the ability to do this too, after [[spoiler: inheriting the All For One quirk and being turned into a super-human]].

* In ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'' people are terrified of Maine when she's angry, which comes as a surprise because she's the size of a toddler and in poor health. She isn't even malicious in her 'revenge.' It turns out that she has a lot of mana in her body which is released when she gets angry, which manifests as an aura that causes fear and intimidation to those near her, meaning she lets off a killing intent without any intent to kill.
* ''Manga/NagasareteAirantou'': Most main characters feel the killing intent when they are about to be attacked or when someone's very angry about them even from somewhere else on the island. In one case the girls felt a strong killing intent from outside the island [[spoiler:when Misaki found Ikuto's letter and is jealous that he's living with only girls.]]
* Weaponized by the main character in ''Literature/TheEminenceInShadow'' during a duel. Through subtle movement of his eyes and changes in posture, he's able to project his killing intent so vividly to his opponent that she hallucinates being stabbed or decapitated each time she tries to approach him and ends up completely shut down.
* The titular creatures in ''Manga/{{Parasyte}}'' project this when threatened or about to attack. It's usually drawn as an AnimalBattleAura.
* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'': The title character displays a ''lot'' of this when he succumbs to his SuperpoweredEvilSide. Goshinki, one of Naraku's incarnations who used {{Telepathy}} to [[CombatClairvoyance predict his opponents' next move]], is completely unnerved to discover that Demon!Inuyasha's only coherent thoughts center around rage and killing intent, which renders him [[PsychicStatic unable to predict what Inuyasha will do next]].
-->'''Goshinki''': What's the meaning of this? His heart is completely different now. He has none of the indecision or sadness or fear of before. I sense only anger, and he delights in the thought of killing me.
* Parodied in ''Manga/AyakashiTriangle'': We get a ominous closeup of Suzu as Reo [[TheNoseKnows smells]] how '''lustful''' Suzu's intent to Matsuri is at the moment.
* In the manga version of ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' Pip makes a reference to how vampires, even the artificially created vampires of Millennium, can read killing intent and turn it into a sort of limited CombatClairvoyance, as at least in close combat they can tell the how an opponent intends to move or attack. This is why Pip's first line of defense around the Hellsing manor is a field of landmines and remotely activated bombs. There's no killing intent for the vampires to detect as they across an open field, and even if they could tell that someone hundreds of yards away wants to do them harm, it doesn't help when said person simply pushes a button and sets off a claymore mine in front of the vampires.

* In ''Film/KungFuHustle'', Sing is sent to retrieve [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast The Beast]] near the end of the movie. When he ends up right outside the room The Beast is in, he hallucinates a wave of blood bursting through the door [[Film/TheShining Shining-style.]]

* In ''[[Film/RogueOne Rogue One: A Star Wars Story]]'', Chirrut, a [[BlindSeer blind]] [[BareFistedMonk monk]] that was once a guardian of a Jedi temple and [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane may or may not be Force-sensitive]] asks if Captain Andor has the face of a killer. His [[CloudCuckoolandersMinder colleague]] Baze said he doesn't; he has a kind face, the face of a friend. Chirrut says that the Dark Side of the Force stirs around those who have intent to kill, and Jyn (with added observation by [[RobotBuddy K2S0]] that his rifle was in Sniper configuration) deduces that Andor intends to assassinate her father.

* Nico di Angelo demonstrates a ''weaponized'' version of this in the last book of ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus''. When someone threatens to have one of his friends executed, he strips him of his identity and sends him to the Fields of Punishment through willpower alone.
* In ''LightNovel/FullMetalPanic'', Sōsuke's past as a {{child soldier|s}} has given him the ability to sense killing intent, which he uses to set traps for assassins targeting him. This was also used to torment him. [[spoiler:One of Mithril's agents would observe him via the scope of a rifle, and find that Sōsuke actually got visually agitated when he did this. It's implied that much of Sōsuke's misbehavior in school is caused by him sensing the agent's killing intent without being able to tell where it's coming from, causing him to lash out against people nearby.]]
* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' refers to the ability to sense killing intent from monsters in the game as "Hypersense", which may or may not actually exist.
* In ''LightNovel/Overlord2012'', [[BattleButler Sebas]] can control his Killing Intent with incredible strength and precision, to the point where he can stare into a group of hardened warriors and reduce one of them to a gibbering wreck without alerting the others. Normal people exposed to his Killing Intent could literally die of fright. At one point Sebas even uses this as a form of TrainingFromHell, teaching Climb a [[SuperReflexes "mental overclock"]] ability by having him experience what it's like to be a hair away from death.
* Lina Inverse of ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' has been known to use this to tell when somebody's sneaking up behind her in a fight. Gourry and Zelgadiss may also be capable of it - they've been known to react to attacks they couldn't have seen coming.
* In ''Literature/TheSpiritThief'', people who are very good at killing can identify others like them upon looking at them, and sense their desire to kill. Josef is using it as a SpiderSense of sorts, telling him when to treat a fight seriously.
* ''Literature/APracticalGuideToEvil'' doesn't name it as such, but Named can create an aura like this by flaring their power. As for what happens if you threaten to steal [[BloodKnight Ranger]]'s fun...
-->''The blade did not move, and neither did the hand that held it. And yet for a heartbeat I felt like my throat had been cut, like blood was gushing out. The intent had been so strong it had almost become a fact.''
* In ''LightNovel/ACertainMagicalIndex'', [[ChurchMilitant Vento of the Front]]'s "Divine Punishment" causes anyone in the world who aims hostility at her to be knocked unconscious unless protected by powerful magic. [[MadScientist Amata Kihara]] is immune to its effects due to being a {{Sociopath}} who can murder people without feeling any hostility towards them at all, comparing it to pulling up weeds.

* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' utilizes the {{Ki|Manipulation}}-based version as a major element known as the ''Satsui no Hadou'' (Surge of Murderous Intent). [[BloodKnight Akuma]] is considered a master of this energy and as such fights and kills anyone who faces him. Ryu also temporarily gets possessed by this energy as [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Evil Ryu]], and tends to go further than Akuma. This is an especially present element in the ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha Alpha]]'' series and the ''Ryu Final'' Manga. [[VideoGame/StreetFighterIV Oni]] is Akuma consumed beneath the ''Satsui no Hadou'' and turned into a monster that seeks only to kill and radiates his killing intent as a terrible aura around him.
* ''VideoGame/DragaliaLost'' has Yachiyo, a wandering samurai from Hinomoto who wants [[PlayerCharacter Euden]] to be her 1000th duel and pesters him until he gives in. She had been quite friendly throughout her story, though once her sword is drawn, she emits a black aura and Euden is momentarily paralyzed with fear. Her personality becomes colder with an intent to kill as well.

* In ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'', while chatting with Otacon, [[VideoGame/MetalGear Snake]] mentions [[Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda Ganondorf]] is "giving off a murderous vibe." He's also uneasy with trying to fight him - "even getting close to him makes my skin crawl."

* ''VideoGame/Persona5'': Parodied in one classroom event, where a teacher catches Joker slacking off. Joker will think "I feel a murderous intent" just before the teacher [[ChuckingChalk throws a piece of chalk at him]].

* In ''Videogame/GhostOfTsushima'', the "[[SuperMode Ghost Stance]]" has Jin effectively triggering this, immediately putting every nearby enemy in a terrified state and allowing him to insta-kill up to three enemies. Visually, this causes the game to go into a DeliberateMonochrome that flashes red whenever you execute enemies and DramaticWind to start billowing intensely.
* In ''Videogame/Yakuza6'' [[spoiler:Tohru Hirose]] is described as intimidating enough that he was able to make a crime boss break out in sweats despite the two negotiating in his own hideout.
* A PlayedForLaughs variation comes from ''VideoGame/Disgaea3AbsenceOfJustice'', as Mao suddenly senses a large amount of Killing Intent rolling in, only for fellow party member [[BadassNormal Sapphire Rhodonite]], Princess of the Human World, to sheepishly admit it was her.
* In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', Vegnagun can sense hostility and flees at the first sign of it.

* In the Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}, skilled fighters can do this. In the ''Unlimited Blade Works'' route of ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' Shirou is able to sense that he is being followed by [[TheSnarkKnight Archer]] because he is taunting Shirou with his killing intent. When Shirou calls him out on it he is impressed that such an [[IneptMage unskilled magus]] could detect it. Shirou also uses Archer's killing intent to tell from where he is launching his [[TrickArrow attack]] against Berserker during their fight in the graveyard, and notes that [[spoiler:it's directed at more than ''just'' Berserker]].
** And then there's [[spoiler:True Assassin's]] [[StealthExpert Presence Concealment]] skill, which renders him virtually impossible to find, unless he's preparing to attack a target in which case his own massive Killing Intent betrays him and makes him much easier to find. Though, in all fairness, when this time comes it's generally already too late.
* [[BloodKnight Angela]] from ''VisualNovel/PrincessWaltz'' is right there with with the likes of [[Manga/{{Bleach}} Kenpachi]] in terms of bloodlust. In many occasion her glare has caused hardened warriors to flinch and even think that they were vomiting blood after being ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice just from being 'hit' by it.
* In ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'', Keiichi refers to being able to feel (or not feel) "murderous intent" and sometimes uses that to decide if someone is trustworthy.

* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', this is one of the functions of Haki: people with Conqueror's Haki are able to OneHitKO scores of {{Mooks}} through the strength of their ambition. Zoro does this as well. His "Kiki Kyutoryu: Asura" is said by Kaku to be a illusory manifestation of his killing intent.

* Weaponized by the main character in ''LightNovel/TheEminenceInShadow'' during a duel. Through subtle movement of his eyes and changes in posture, he's able to project his killing intent so vividly to his opponent that she hallucinates being stabbed or decapitated each time she tries to approach him and ends up completely shut down.

** A more subtle example shows up in the second major arc. Thorfinn, in the middle of a years long '''major''' HeroicBSOD, doesn't move an inch and stoically endures numerous minor cuts and wounds from an outlaw nicknamed "Fox". Fox doesn't intend to kill Thorfinn (yet), he wants to scare Throfinn, and between his depression and sensing the lack of serious killing intent Thorfinn makes no response to Fox's attacks, even when Fox slices off part of Thorfinn's ear. Moments later Fox's boss "Snake", after stopping Fox, apologizing for Fox's deeds, and seeming like an all around around nice guy, takes a second to draw up some truly serious killing intent and takes a swipe at Thorfinn. Thorfinn reacts instinctively by dodging the blow and defending himself, shocking even himself as he did it completely unconsciously and his brain didn't catch up to his body's reaction until it was over. Snake laughs and points out that as miserable as Thorfinn feels, the fact that he's instinctually trying to defend himself against someone with actual killing intent means that some part of his subconscious hasn't given up on life yet.

* In the work ''Strandpiel'' by Creator/AAPessimal, eight-year old Ruth Smith-Rhodes-Stibbons has a terrifying "dream" where she revisits a desperate fight from many years before she was born; she is forced, by a malevolent external agency, to spectate the depserate fight her mother had[[note]]Her mother, normally a lethal weapon, was handicapped by being heavily pregnant, with Ruth's oldest sister: go to the tale ''Hyperemesis Gravidarum''[[/note]] with a brual psychopathic killer intent on murder. Despite being terrified, Ruth -- who has a streak of magic inherited from her father, Ponder Stibbons - realises [[AuraVision everybody has an aura]] and can be seen as enclosed in a halo of coloured light. A gifted artist, she resolves to try and paint this later. Ruth watches as the angry and evil colours surrounding the killer gather themselves. And then send out lightning flashes of scarlet light aimed at that part of her mother where her unborn sister is. She also sees her mother's BattleAura put out everything it can to deflect this. She realises, then, that fights are not just conducted on the physical level with swords. Being the daughter of an Assassin, she grasps this too.

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8510543/9/Alternate-Beginnings-of-an-Uzumaki A Different Type of Anger]]'', Naruto manifests killing intent strong enough for the Sand-Sound Invasion to never happen as everyone present was either paralyzed with terror or just desperately wanted to go home. It's explicitly stated said killing intent is entirely Naruto and has nothing to do with Kurama.

** A more subtle example shows up in the second major arc. Thorfinn, in the middle of a years long '''major''' HeroicBSOD, doesn't move an inch and stoically endures numerous minor cuts and wounds from an outlaw nicknamed "Fox". Fox doesn't intend to kill Thorfinn (yet), he wants to scare Throfinn, and between his depression and sensing the lack of serious killing intent Thorfinn makes no response to Fox's attacks, even when Fox slices off part of Thorfinn's ear. Moments later Fox's boss "Snake", after stopping Fox, apologizing for Fox's deeds, and seeming like an all around around nice guy, takes a second to draw up some truly serious killing intent and takes a swipe at Thorfinn. Thorfinn reacts instinctively by dodging the blow and defending himself, shocking even himself as he did it completely unconsciously and his brain didn't catch up to his body's reaction until it was over. Snake laughs and points out that as miserable as Thorfinn feels, this means some part of his subconscious hasn't given up on life yet.

* Shows up repeatedly in ''Manga/VinlandSaga''. The most notable example is probably when [[BloodKnight Thorkell]] gets hyped for a fight and his opponent [[https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/vsbattles/images/4/42/Thorkell.jpg visualizes his killing intent thusly.]][[spoiler:Said opponent never even gets to lift his weapon; his mind breaks from the killing intent and he spends the rest of the series as a vegetable.]]

* The ''Franchise/StarWars: Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' {{novelization}} makes a point of averting this re the clones when they carry out [[ThePurge Order 66]]. Since they're JustFollowingOrders without malice, they catch the Jedi completely by surprise.

The Japanese term for this is ''sakki'' (殺気[[note]]The individual kanji are pronounced ''satsu'' and ''ki'', respectively, but due to Japanese grammar rules, the ''-tsu'' in the former is dropped and the consonant in ''ki'' is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemination geminated]], turning it into ''sa-'' + ''-kki''.[[/note]]), which is primarily used by [[{{Ninja}} practitioners of Ninjutsu]]; "Killing Intent" is the most literal translation, with "Bloodlust" as a close second. The Chinese equivalent is ''sha qi'' or ''saat hei'' in Cantonese (殺氣).

The Japanese term for this is ''sakki'' (殺気[[note]]The individual kanji are pronounced ''satsu'' and ''ki'', respectively, but due to Japanese grammar rules, the ''-tsu'' in the former is dropped and the consonant in ''ki'' is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemination geminated]], turning it into ''sa-'' + ''-kki''.[[/note]]), which is primarily used by [[{{Ninja}} practitioners of Ninjutsu]]; "Killing Intent" is the most literal translation, with "Bloodlust" as a close second. The Chinese equivalent is ''sha qi'' or ''saat hei'' (殺氣).

The Japanese term for this is ''sakki'' (殺気[[note]]The individual kanji are pronounced ''satsu'' and ''ki'', respectively, but due to Japanese grammar rules, the ''-tsu'' in the former is dropped and the consonant in ''ki'' is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemination geminated]], turning it into ''sa-'' + ''-kki''.[[/note]]), which is primarily used by [[{{Ninja}} practitioners of Ninjutsu]]; "Killing Intent" is the most literal translation, with "Bloodlust" as a close second.

While most people can only detect Killing Intent subconsciously, people who have enough combat experience (or are just perceptive) can notice it so well that it borders on SpiderSense or DetectEvil. Likewise, some particularly vicious characters hone their Killing Intent to the point where it can leave people nearby [[DeerInTheHeadlights paralysed with fear]] or even inflict hallucinations. In either case this will be treated as [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower a mundane skill and not a supernatural ability]], and can easily [[MagicRealism show up without comment in works which don't otherwise have any fantastic elements]]. Some people will even tell you it's possible in RealLife.[[note]]sometimes adopting [[DoingInTheWizard the less mystical explanation]] that it's really detecting slight differences in air pressure, temperature, smell and so on[[/note]]

-->-- ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', "Sons of Mogh"

* In ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}, Cassandra seeks out ComicBook/LadyShiva to request her aid. Before she even knows Shiva is there, Cassandra feels a "wind like a thousand knives" so cold that it affects her, despite her saying that she's [[CharlesAtlasSuperpower never really felt cold before]].

* Nico di Angelo demonstrates a ''weaponized'' version of this in the last book of ''LightNovel/HeroesOfOlympus''. When someone threatens to have one of his friends executed, he strips him of his identity and sends him to the Fields of Punishment through willpower alone.

* In ''LightNovel/{{Overlord|2012}}'', [[BattleButler Sebas]] can control his Killing Intent with incredible strength and precision, to the point where he can stare into a group of hardened warriors and reduce one of them to a gibbering wreck without alerting the others. Normal people exposed to his Killing Intent could literally die of fright. At one point Sebas even uses this as a form of TrainingFromHell, teaching Climb a [[SuperReflexes "mental overclock"]] ability by having him experience what it's like to be a hair away from death.

-->''Jake didn't even have time to flinch in surprise as the cold, hard muzzle of a 9mm pistol suddenly appeared pressed against his forehead.''
-->''If Jake's draw had been the carefully calculated strike of a snake, Revy's draw could only be described as a bolt of lightning. To Jake, caught completely off guard, it must have seemed like a magic trick. Her fingertips had twitched just once, and the handgun had suddenly disappeared from inside her holster and reappeared in her gloved hand.''
-->''Jake had indeed drawn before Revy, but he hadn't pointed his gun at her. A taunt disguised as foolishness had been all he could manage. But Revy had drawn her gun fully prepared to kill. Even if he attempted to bring his weapon to bear now, Revy's finger would pull the trigger of her Sword Cutlass before he could do more than twitch. The hunter had become the hunted.''
-->''"He, hey! What do you think you're doing..."''
-->''Caroline's voice trailed off as though she was being strangled. The murderous intent radiating from Revy had dropped the room’s temperature below zero.''
-->''"Don't put your life on the line for a joke, dipshit."''
-->''Any thoughts of the job they had coming up had already vanished from Revy's mind. Such complicated processes no longer had any place in her brain, which was now running purely on instinct. She wasn't the sort to laugh at unfunny jokes. That was all.''

* In one episode of ''Series/LieToMe'', the Lightman group try to use their observational abilities to find an assassin by detecting his or her Killing Intent. The nature of the Lightman group's abilities means that they have to see the person's face for detection. Played with at one point. Lightman thinks someone has murderous intent and is planning to kill someone else, but it is actually [[DrivenToSuicide suicidal intent]]. They manage to stop her before she goes through with it. Just because you have killing intent doesn't mean you're planning to kill another.
* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', Worf once states that Klingons can see murderous or violent intent in a person's eyes.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* As mentioned above, Killing Intent can occur in everyday life, to an extent; i.e. body language, verbal cues, and the way you can just FEEL it when someone is glaring at you.