History Main / SingleStrokeBattle

* A boxing match from the 90s between fringe heavyweight contender Jimmy Thunder and Crawford Grimsley. Grimsley made the mistake of trying to come right at the [[MeaningfulName powerful Thunder]], and Thunder's first punch was a smashing right hand that laid Grimsley out in what would have been record time if the referee hadn't insisted on doing a full 10 count.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' plays with this. Few battles are truly of this trope in their entirety but will end this way. After [[InactionSequence a few episodes of monologuing]], taunts, releasing ''zanpakuto'' and [[ExplainingYourPowerToTheEnemy explaining their abilities]], {{flashback}}s, {{Superpowered Evil Side}}s, random philosophy, and building up one's BattleAura, both parties agree to end the fight in a single strike. At that point, this trope gets played straight.

One way to fake out the audience is to have one character (almost always the hero) fall to one knee looking as if they've been hit, or have them suffer a relatively minor wound, but then reveal that he's okay while the other character falls over dead instead. Another common subversion of expectations involves revealing ''both'' combatants to have been injured (or [[MutualKill killed]]). In RealLife, UsefulNotes/{{kendo}} kata #7 ends this way.

* Played seriously in David Weber's ''Flag in Exile'', where Literature/HonorHarrington has to face a traitorous nobleman in a [[RightMakesMight Trial By Combat]]. She took a second stroke, swinging back the other way from her initial stroke, but the first would've been fatal by itself without the second one decapitating her opponent. It should be noted that the swords used in this case are derived from the samurai swords seen in ''Film/SevenSamurai'' but longer and with the back edge partly sharpened, allowing it to be used for a reverse stroke.

* ''Film/AssassinsOfBrotherhood'' has the battle between Wei and his second brother-in-arms, two of them in a field at dusk. The sun is setting, the audience only see their silhouettes as they dash at each other. A slashing noise is heard as the camera pans out, then pans in again, switching between Wei and his brother as they have a heartfelt, final chat on how they're destined to kill each other... [[YouAreAlreadyDead then the brother collapses]].

[[quoteright:246:[[Literature/TheGardenOfSinners https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cit_kara_no_kyoukai_-_Shiki_-_your_zombie_asplode.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:246:[-''Shwing!'' And the LudicrousGibs paint a lovely picture in the moonlight.-] ]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'':

** Also happens in the ending cutscenes of ''Tekken 5'' for Anna and Nina, although in this case, it was for a movie shoot. If it's Anna's ending, she (the victor) fakes her defeat against the script (unlike Nina's ending). It does pay off for Anna, though, as the blow had the unintentional effect of [[ClothingDamage causing a wardrobe malfunction for Nina]], treating [[DistractedByTheSexy the film crew]] ([[MaleGaze and the player]]) a peak at [[DefeatByModesty an embarrassed Nina hastily trying to cover herself]] as a {{Sexophone}} plays in the background. Anna gets a chuckle out of her sister's predicament.

* Jin and Hakumen from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' have the Yukikaze move [[note]]Jin gets it in ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueContinuumShift Continuum Shift]]'', if you're playing ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueCalamityTrigger Calamity Trigger]]'' and about to say "I don't see shit, captain".[[/note]], which follows a counter. [[spoiler:Yeah, they're the same person... [[TimeyWimeyBall sort of]], why do you ask?]]

* This can happen in ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' if both players use the sword dash.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* The final fight in the pulpy ''Film/{{Underworld}}'' is this trope down to a tee, although somewhat more drawn out than usual.

* ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga''. Aral Vorkosigan's brilliant conquering of Komarr in his BackStory - too bad his political officer turned him into TheButcher with a single betrayal.

* ''Literature/CodexAlera'' has one of these [[spoiler:in the final clash between the Vord Queen and Tavi at the Princeps Memorial]].

* In [[Literature/GwendalavirUniverse Ewilan's Worlds]], Edwin Til' Illan encounters his WorthyOpponent in Yalissan Fiyr, and they duel at the end of the book. It lasts less than a second. [[spoiler: [[SubvertedTrope Edwin is gutted]], while Yalissan Fiyr looks at him with an amused look]] [[spoiler: before falling to the ground, [[DoubleSubversion beheaded]]. Edwin eventually survives.]]
* ''Literature/ReignOfTheSevenSpellblades'': [[spoiler:Oliver Horn]] versus Darius Grenville. [[spoiler:Oliver]] uses a [[UnblockableAttack Spellblade]] to sever Darius's sword hand on the first stroke by picking out [[MultipleChoiceFuture the one possible future out of ten thousand]] where he struck faster than Darius.

* ''Shogun's Samurai'' features a CoolOldGuy vs. RetiredBadass SSB that dramatically uses a stylistic conjunction of DiagonalCut.

** In one of the last episodes, Jin and MasterSwordsman Kariya Kagetoki charge each other dramatically on the docks. In a flashback later in the episode, [[spoiler:Jin is seen plummeting to the waters below while Kariya nonchalantly sheathes his sword.]]

* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Hiei and Shigure [[spoiler: fight to the death for Mukuro's edification. Both deal out lethal wounds too quickly to spot, and have a keel-over moment afterwards. Of course, Mukuro revives them both, and even ends up falling in love (sorta) with Hiei.]] Hiei also pulled this trope out much earlier, in the battle against Seiryuu of the Four Saint Beasts (in the manga, anyway; the anime extended the fight by a few minutes, though Seiryuu still went down faster than the other three beasts). Though it was actually ''16'' strokes. They just [[FlashStep came so fast that Seiryuu didn't even know he'd been hit until he died]].

* The fight between Shirahime (Sai) & Suzuka (Hatoko) in ''Manga/AngelicLayer''. [[spoiler: Suzuka loses]].

* ''Manga/TsubasaReservoirChronicle'' the anime was about to set up one of these between Kurogane and Seishiro when they are stopped at the last moment by Mokona. Just as well too because both characters had PlotArmor and neither could die, being that Kurogane is a main character in Tsubasa and [[ContractualImmortality Seishiro's last battle is destined]] to be against [[spoiler:Subaru in ''X1999'']].
** However, Kurogane gets a real one when [[spoiler:he kills/maims Fei Wong Reed - it's not entirely clear which, but it certainly fills the prerequisite for epic.]]
* ''Manga/GingaNagareboshiGin'' and all it's sequals are known to do this, in tune with the idea that ''The dogs are like Samurai.

* Done at the climax of the ''Anime/HaloLegends'' short ''The Duel'' between Fal and Haka. It results in a MutualKill.
** Something worth noting: that episode was heavily based on a samurai legend.
* ''Manga/{{Basilisk}}'' has an interesting variation: [[spoiler:Yakushiji Tenzen gets to be on both the receiving and giving end of this trope... and ''in that order!'' First Jimushi Juubei pierces Tenzen's cheast with his [[HiddenWeapons hidden blade]], killing him. Then Tenzen [[BackFromTheDead comes back]] and [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe cuts Juubei in half]] with his katana.]]

* The climactic battle of the first season of ''Literature/ChivalryOfAFailedKnight'' boils down to this. [[WeakButSkilled Ikki Kurogane]] faces off in his final match against [[TheAce Touka Toudou]] in his final match, which he must win to graduate. He puts his all into a single strike, and she responds in kind [[spoiler: and in the end he is victorious, earning himself a place in the next Seven Stars Tournament.]]

* In the awesome manga adaptation of ''VideoGame/MegaManX2'', X is challenged to a duel by Flame Stag, who previously lost a duel and is itching for revenge. Stag, having received an upgrade from the BigBad, and X, who has been blinded, rush past each other in a dormant volcano. X is then shown bleeding (oil?), while Stag is completely unharmed. X then crumples to the ground. Of course, [[spoiler:there's no way X is going to lose here, and Stag suddenly bursts into flames, due to some crazy close-range tampering by X earlier when passing by. The Irony is that had Stag not been upgraded, he might have been able to contain the damage.]]

* The last issue of [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin's]] solo title has Tim Drake being challenged to a duel to the death by his teacher, Comicbook/LadyShiva. They meet, and have what looks like one of these, after which Tim is stumbling, with three broken ribs, while Shiva is standing triumphantly. [[spoiler:Then, Shiva collapses, and Tim explains that he slipped her a paralytic poison, activated by a heightened heart beat, ''before she even made the challenge''.]]

* Played for shock value in ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'', where a confrontation between Preston and TheDragon Brandt is teased throughout the film. When the time finally comes for them to face off, [[spoiler:Preston chops Brandt's [[{{Pun}} face]] [[FacialHorror off]] without any effort at all and barely breaks stride.]]
** Though this is more of an example of a CurbStompBattle and was made so short because the actor playing the Dragon did not have time to film a longer scene due to other projects. This scene is also the opposite of an earlier scene where the same characters have a very drawn out training fight.

* The final battle of ''Film/{{Azumi}}'': [[spoiler: Azumi and Bijoumaru do this after a long swordfight. After the unseen swordstrike, both fighters are standing with their backs to each other, filmed from different angles. A small trail of blood starts to encircle Bijoumaru's neck, he tries to turn while jumping and he lands.....with his head pointing the wrong way. The decapitation takes full effect only as he collapses.]]

** [[spoiler:Holdo does this on an ''entire fleet'' using a suicidal hyperspeed jump. She uses the ''Raddus'' to cut the First Order's flagship in half, and as a side effect most of their Star Destroyers are destroyed as well. The shot is framed exactly like a normal single-stroke battle, with one frame where the fleet seems unaffected, and in the next destruction]].

* ''Literature/CodexAlera'' has one of these [[spoiler:in the final clash between the Vord Queen and Tavi at the Princeps Memorial.]]

* ''Franchise/UltraSeries''

** ''Series/UltramanTaiga'' sees Ultraman Fuma's Trenchant-Star Light Wave Shuriken, used as a melee attack, clash with an [[Series/UltramanLeo Alien Babarou's]] sword. After the two pass each other, there's a {{Beat}} before Fuma declares his victory, followed by Babarou falling over and exploding.
-->'''Fuma:''' [[YouAreAlreadyDead "You were too slow!"]]

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''

** In the ''[[LimitedSpecialCollectorsUltimateEdition Final Mix+]]'' version of the game, [[spoiler:the same applies to their controller, Roxas (now a boss, instead of a cutscene). Initiating the Duel Stance reaction command shows a scene of the two charging at each, Keyblades at the ready and in slow-mo. If Sora selects the right command in time, he'll knock Roxas into the air and telekinetically ''steal'' his Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades, using them in tandem with his regular combos for a short period of time until Roxas (now reduced to his {{light|EmUp}} powers) steals them back. If Sora fails, let's just say he'll be feeling sore in the morning. [[EpicFail Or not.]]]]
** After fighting Luxord in the World That Never Was, the battle ends when [[spoiler:Luxord tries to put up a wall of cards around himself, but Sora just sprints right at him and slices through the cards (and Luxord) with one swing.]] Cue Sora's AssKickingPose.

** Try charging into a line of Katana Heroes with an army of Loan Sword Ashigaru and zoom in on the fighting. Loan Sword Ashigaru are essentially farmers with katanas, while Katana Heroes eat, sleep, drink, and talk pure swordsmanship. It's less of a SingleStrokeBattle so much as a single stroke blender.

* The Odin summon from various ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games would randomly kill all on-screen enemies (or would simply deal a good chunk of damage to a single foe). The ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kma-7vYJ43Y version]] follows the trope to a T (except for Odin being mounted). Appropriately, [[spoiler:Odin's unexpected death in that game at the hands of Seifer came in the form of a one-stroke battle as well.]]
** To put that last part in perspective, [[spoiler:Seifer {{counter|Attack}}s Odin's Zantetsuken with a move (judging by the kanji shown afterward) called the "Zantetsuken Reverse". It only involves Seifer ''raising his free hand''. That's right. ''TheLawOfDiminishingDefensiveEffort was used to enact a Single Stroke Battle.'' Luckily for the player, this cutscene leads to a BigDamnHeroes moment from [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyV Gilgamesh]], who shows up several turns later to one-shot Seifer with some RazorWind and then joins the party as a semi-Guardian Force replacement for Odin.]]

** Near the end of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', [[spoiler:Dante and Vergil]] get to do this again, [[spoiler:in full Sin Devil Trigger]], to close off their final confrontation. [[spoiler:Except Nero is in no mood to let either of them kill each other]].
* This shows up a lot in ''VideoGame/SamuraiWarriors''. Notable instances of the trope are the endings for Ranmaru Mori, Mitsuhide Akechi, and UsefulNotes/OdaNobunaga.
** The closely related ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' series also has a few examples, such as Guan Yu's death in ''[=DW5=]''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''

* ''[[http://www.e4.com/game/straw-hat-samurai/play.e4 Straw Hat Samurai]]'' is a game based on this trope.

* In ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaWarriorWithin'', this is how [[spoiler:the Prince kills Kaileena, after a long fight. They run at each other from a distance, a sword clang is held when they meet and they continue running without pause for a short distance. After a beat, Kaileena slowly collapses while telling the Prince he lost anyway.]]

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel IV'', [[spoiler:Rean engages in this against both Osborne and [[TrueFinalBoss Ishmelga]]. He wins both times.]]

* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle''
** [[VideoGame/NinjaGaiden Ryu Hayabusa]] and VideoGame/{{Strider}} Hiryu naturally ends with one as a reference to the intro of the original ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden''. [[spoiler:As Hiryu was faster, he won the clash, leaving Ryu wide-open for his [[BladeSpam Ragnarok]] FinishingMove]].

** Happens at the climax of the battle between [[Manga/OnePiece Roronoa Zoro]] and [[Manga/FairyTail Erza Scarlet]], which is quite fitting since both of them have used this trope themselves. [[spoiler:Not only does Zoro's strike defeat Erza, but the ''mountain behind her'']].
** The finale of WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack and Anime/AfroSamurai uses this, fittingly enough, given their penchant ability to pull this off in their own canon. [[spoiler:Jack loses his right arm in the clash, but Afro lost ''both'' of his, and thus is left vulnerable to being sliced apart by his armed opponent]].

* The ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' cartoon ''[[http://www.homestarrunner.com/underconstruction.html Under Construction]]'' parodies this trope, with the anime-inspired Stinkoman battling "Stickly Man", a shovel-wielding animated GIF, in a Single-Stroke Battle that's clearly an {{Homage}} to ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden''.

* Parodied in [[http://www.dieselsweeties.com/archive/2457 this]] Diesel Sweeties battle between [[MundaneMadeAwesome a toaster and a coffee machine]].

* Outright abused in [[http://endling.deviantart.com/art/S-Rumble-Vs-Seth-Part-1-61164253 Ree v. Seth, parts two and three]], when [[spoiler:the trope starts as usual. All of Ree's demons fall off, and she congratulates her opponent. He informs her that she probably shouldn't be in the tournament, then tells her she won. Then he basically explodes blood.]] The artist even lampshades it in the description.

* [[https://youtu.be/OvTpZQyfeVA This boxing match]] from the 90s between fringe heavyweight contender Jimmy Thunder and Crawford Grimsley. Grimsley made the mistake of trying to come right at the [[MeaningfulName powerful Thunder]], and Thunder's first punch was a smashing right hand that laid Grimsley out in what would have been record time if the referee hadn't insisted on doing a full 10 count.

* In ''Anime/DigimonAdventure 01'', Wargreymon has one of these with Mugendramon (Machinedramon). Wargreymon charges at Mugendramon who just makes a dismissing sound and raises his metal claw. They strike simultaneously, and end up standing back to back for a second, then Wargreymon reverts back to Koromon and a cut appears on his face. Mugendramon looks back and gloats, but Koromon says he won't lose because all his friends are backing him up. The camera cycles through all of said friends, and ''then'' Mugendramon falls to pieces while groaning in disbelief. Single-Stroke Battle powered by ThePowerOfFriendship.

---> '''Koromon''': "Uh, I think you forgot something when I was Wargreymon!" ''*Top third of Machinedramon slides off and disintegrates, then the middle, and then the bottom disappears*''

---> '''Koromon''': You missed what I did when I was Wargreymon. '''I sliced you like an onion!''' ''*Cue sliding and dissolving as stated above*''

Contains some TruthInTelevision, even if embellished. Real sword fights often take only a few seconds or even a fraction of a second, with one solid hit generally being enough to take a man out of the fight (contrast this with {{Flynning}}). On the other hand a single stroke battle is only one of many possible outcomes, since the initial clash will often be indecisive due to a successful void (dodge) or parry, and the reaction of any particular person to a given wound type is highly unpredictable. Historical examples show that some individuals collapsed or died instantly upon receiving relatively superficial wounds, while others managed to keep attacking for several minutes before collapsing despite having a blade sticking all the way through their torso, and some of the latter even survived afterwards! While you should aim to make your strike decisive, you should also immediately face your opponent again and get ready to defend against an afterblow, because you cannot assume that they were instantly incapacitated by your first strike without first observing how they react.

* The ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' cartoon ''[[http://www.homestarrunner.com/underconstruction.html Under Construction]]'' parodies this trope, with the anime-inspired Stinkoman battling "Stickly Man", a shovel-wielding animated GIF, in a Single-Stroke Battle that's clearly an {{Homage}} to ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden''.

* In ''Anime/WeissKreuz'' the final confrontation between [[HotBlooded Ken]] and [[BeleagueredChildhoodFriend Kase]] turns out to be a single stroke battle, though Ken's armed with WolverineClaws and Kase has a gun. Kase turns out to have missed. Ken more sort of doesn't.

* A non-sword version of this trope occurs in the Battle Frontier season of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': at the end of the battle between Charizard and [[spoiler:Articuno]], both Pokémon hit each other with one last attack. [[spoiler:Charizard falls to the ground, while Articuno lands seemingly unharmed. The referee begins to declare Articuno the winner, but Charizard manages to struggle back to his feet. Then Articuno suddenly collapses.]]

[[quoteright:246:[[LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cit_kara_no_kyoukai_-_Shiki_-_your_zombie_asplode.jpg]]]]

* Subverted in one of the theatrical films for ''The LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' – what falls to pieces is not Lina's opponent, but Lina's opponent's cheap-ass wicker armor and wooden sword.
* Also parodied in the first ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' TV series, when Zelgadis fights Dilgear. Both of them land a hit, but both escape unscathed because neither can be hurt by normal swords (Zelgadis' half-golem body is too tough to damage, and Dilgear's half-troll body heals within seconds).

* Pictured above: Shiki cutting through zombies in the fifth ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners'' movie like butter. And it was awesome!

* ''LightNovel/ChromeShelledRegios'': An early fight between Haia and Layfon comes down to this, both waiting for the other to show an opening, since both are trained in the same techniques.

* The climax of the final showdown between Spike and Vicious in ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' is one of these, with an additional ShoutOut to ''A Better Tomorrow II'' (Spike has Vicious' sword, Vicious has Spike's gun). [[spoiler:After both weapons are returned to their original owners, and the final attacks are made, both men fall, but Vicious goes down first, with Spike living just long enough to deliver his final line to the Red Dragons gathered before him: "Bang."]]

* The climactic battle of the first season of ''LightNovel/ChivalryOfAFailedKnight'' boils down to this. [[WeakButSkilled Ikki Kurogane]] faces off in his final match against [[TheAce Touka Toudou]] in his final match, which he must win to graduate. He puts his all into a single strike, and she responds in kind [[spoiler: and in the end he is victorious, earning himself a place in the next Seven Stars Tournament.]]
* Subverted when Darkness fights Beldia in ''LightNovel/{{Konosuba}}''. They both swing dramatically, only to realize after a brief pause that Darkness missed him.

* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', Kirito does this to a wolf at the end of the first episode when he rushes off to the next village shortly after Kayaba tells the players they're stuck in the game. He also does this consecutively to two Salamanders right after he first arrives in [=ALfheim=] Online.

** Also in ''II'', BonusBoss [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Sephiroth]] always opens up the battle with and afterwards periodically uses a move called "Flash", where the screen darkens, Sephiroth makes a short remark ("That's enough."), and he dashes past Sora with quick footwork. If Sora doesn't use the "Reflect" reaction command (or – with ''very'' good timing – use Reflect or even jump), Sora is struck by multiple invisible blows that usually bring Sora's health down to critical levels (if underleveled/unprepared, this almost certainly spells [[OneHitKill disaster]]).