History Main / SingleStrokebattle

* One episode of ''KirbyRightBackAtYa'', had one featuring Meta Knight and Chilidog / [=WolfWrath=]. It gave Meta Knight a fang in his forehead that paralyzed him until Kirby destroyed Chilidog / [=WolfWrath=].

* The final boss fight in ''CollegeSaga'' ends with one of these.

* ''KaiketsuLionMaru'', ''Manga/KamenNoNinjaAkakage'', and ''Manga/HenshinNinjaArashi'' have all had battles like this at one time or another.

* [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=2993#comic SMBC]] has single stroke battle ''[[InstantAwesomeJustAddNinja ninja]]'' sex.

* Much of Goemon's battles from ''Franchise/LupinIII'' are like this. One of the best examples is in the movie ''Anime/MysteryOfMamo'' where he faces off against Mamo's lead henchman Flinch; when they land, Goemon has a deep cut on his arm and a broken sword-tip. Flinch laughs at him only for his head to separate into three pieces -- the broken sword was still plenty sharp.

** Read: It works on mooks. Doesn't kill the armored lizards let alone dark nuts. So much for armor not mattering.
** It also works on mini-bosses; once you've used whatever item you need to stun them and expose their weakpoint, you can use the Mortal Draw to finish them quick.
** It really verges on UselessUsefulSpell in all honesty. The instruction specifically states that "there is no counter" along with "the mortal draw deals death". It's VERY strongly suggested that it ALWAYS kills the target. Trick being there are several enemies that can BLOCK it outright ("no counter" right?) and most of the others you'd want to use it on, it simply does (VERY) high amounts of damage rather than killing them. But everything you really, really, really want to one hit kill... it doesn't, in direct contradiction of the instruction you get when you unlock it. And not just bosses either.

*** [[spoiler: [[CrowningMomentOfFunny And the ship was cut in half also]].]]

* Tenchi and Kagato's final clash in ''TenchiMuyo''. [[spoiler:They actually both get hit. But Tenchi's sword somehow cancels Kagato's normal regenerative powers, and his armor blocks Kagato's blade.]]
** [[spoiler:They were both bisected. Tenshi's newfound powers allowed him to regenerate instantly.]]

* In ''CloneWars'' Ahsoka Tano beheads four armored Mandalorian Deathwatch warriors with one manoeuvre using her two lightsabers.

* Arguably, ''TheMatrixReloaded'' has one....in the form of Morpheus vs. an SUV. As Trinity and the Keymaker make their getaway, the Twins try to run Morpheus down. He rolls to the side at the last minute, and uses his [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]] to slice through one of their tires as they pass him. The SUV starts to flip over, setting up Morpheus's ''next'' move - emptying his gun into the gas tank.

* In the beginning of ''{{Troy}}'', Brad Pitt as Achilles does this to an enemy army's champion, who didn't even have time to react because Achilles strolled up to him so casually.

* This is done at least twice in the original ''{{Dragonball}}'', though with fists and feet instead of swords. First, Goku faces off barehanded against Yamcha's "Wolf Fang Fist." Later, capping off his match against Jackie Chun at the World Martial Arts Tournament (after a series of ridiculous events have already transpired such as blowing up the moon) Goku has a single stroke jump-kick faceoff with Chun. [[spoiler:And loses to Chun, who is really Master Roshi in disguise, because Roshi's legs are longer.]]

* Much of Goemon's battles from ''LupinTheThird'' are like this. One of the best examples is in the movie ''[[Recap/MysteryOfMamo The Secret of Mamo]]'' where he faces off against Mamo's lead henchman Flinch; when they land Goemon has a deep cut on his arm and a broken sword-tip. Flinch laughs at him only for his head to separate into three pieces -- the broken sword was still plenty sharp.

* Done in DeadOfSummer, more literally than usual. [[spoiler: [[Music/TheProtomen Panther's]] evil clone]] doesn't even get a chance to react before being destroyed.

* Asuka / Abareblack and his brainwashed love interest Mahoro / Jannu do this in ''BakuryuuSentaiAbaranger'' (after they'd already nearly killed each other more than once). [[spoiler: The moment they run past each other becomes a a plot point - Mahoro uses it to touch their cheek-markings, which lets them communicate mentally. She uses this moment to tell him she's no longer brainwashed, and is going to be helping them from inside the enemy base.]]

** This happens in ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' and ''SuperSentai'' a lot - not even always at the same times. (Kamdor vs. Will didn't have this in sentai, Jannu and Asuka didn't have this in PR, Zen-Aku and Taylor as well as Doggie and Ichthior were the same in both.) Also, it's seldom the ''entire'' battle. Oftentimes it's more, after fighting for the whole episode, they gather themselves for one more strike.

* Jin and Hakumen from ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' have the Yukikaze move [[hottip:*: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".]], which follows a counter. [[spoiler:Yeah, they're the same person... [[TimeyWimeyBall sort of]], why do you ask?]]

* Happens in a swordless manner in ''UltramanTiga'' during the final fight with Evil Tiga. After an evenly matched battle, the two run passed each other and jump with strikes. Tiga falls to his knees but as he's celebrating his victory, Evil Tiga collapses to the ground. Subverted slightly as this doesn't kill Evil Tiga, but merely allows Tiga to hit the finishing move.
* Satirized in ''KamenRiderKabuto'' in a single-pass duel between makeup artists (both male). Whoever ends up prettiest (due to the opponent's makeup application) loses.

*** Or even more alternately:

* Signum and Zest of ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'' finish their duel with this. [[spoiler: Signum won of course, since by the time they did this, she had reduced Zest to his fists after [[WreckedWeapon chopping his weapon in two]]]].

* The final battle in HarryPotter and the Deathly Hallows is a magical variant of this trope. [[spoiler:Harry and Voldemort circle each other. Harry explains that the horcruxes are gone, Voldemort is mortal, and he's doomed to lose the fight ahead. Harry's words lay out how hopeless the situation is and offer Voldemort a chance at salvation. Voldemort scoffs at the offer, the two each cast a single spell, Voldemort's wand flies from his hand, lands in Harry's, and Voldemort drops dead on the floor.]]

* KaiketsuLionMaru, KamenNoNinjaAkakage, and HenshinNinjaArashi have all had battles like this at one time or another.

** 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).