%%%
%%
%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order. Thanks!
%%
%%%

So you just stabbed, sliced, or gored in some way a few {{mook}}s or perhaps [[BigBad someone more important]].

But wait, there's blood on your sword! [[{{Squick}} Eww, gross]]! No worries, just perform a swift cutting motion and all that nasty gunk will fly right off (possibly leaving a cool, dramatic splatter on the floor [[CameraAbuse and/or camera]])!

It's called [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiburi chiburui]] in RealLife, as there's enough blood on the sword, it'll rust faster, but it was more common to clean the sword on a convenient piece of cloth (such as that worn by the dead enemy).

Other liquids (such as water or oil) [[SymbolicBlood don't usually count]], unless there's [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic some symbolism]] to it.

In many recent Japanese films, because the blood is often CGI, this method will be shown as completely effective. This leads to a case of [[RealityIsUnrealistic Reality Being Unrealistic]], as the act of chiburui does not completely clean a blade. Samurai would often wipe their blade off after performing chiburui to ensure it was clean before sheathing it. [[LawOfConservationOfDetail But don't expect to see that part]].

Related to FinishingMove and VictoryPose (as part of the flair that goes with it), and while not exclusive to katanas ([[RuleOfCool sometimes not even exclusive to swords]]), the [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana looks best for it]]. This may be because it was originally a katana technique (more or less), as well as katanas having a thin blade for their length thus making the action much simpler than with a European broadsword.

Compare SmokingBarrelBlowout and LickingTheBlade.

----
!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Advertising ]]
* Advertising/WilkinsCoffee: One of the more shocking ads in the campaign involves Wilkins and Wontkins getting ready to fence with each other.
-->'''Wilkins:''' En garde! Salute Wilkins Coffee!
-->'''Wontkins:''' But I don't drink Wilkins Coffee.
-->''(SmashCut to Wilkins wiping this blade)''
-->'''Wilkins:''' Some learn, some don't.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]
* Sheele from ''Manga/AkameGaKill'' does this in her first appearance with her scissor blade, Extase, after [[spoiler: slicing Aria's mother in half.]]
* Guts does this with his {{BFS}} after killing Bazuso during the opening scene of the first ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'' movie.
* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''
** Used ''extremely'' frequently. Usually, it's done after a SingleStrokeBattle to emphasize how effortlessly the victor won.
** During Kenpachi Zaraki's duel with Nnoitra Gilga, Kenny flicks the blood off his zanpakuto after stabbing Nnoitra.
* The titular warriors of ''Manga/{{Claymore}}'' seem to have a fondness for this. An EstablishingCharacterMoment for Theresa of the Faint Smile was her splattering bystanders thus after a kill.
* At the end of ''Anime/CodeGeass'', when Zero [[spoiler:Suzaku]] kills [[spoiler:Lelouch]].
* Done in ''Manga/HighSchoolOfTheDead'' with a [[BatterUp Baseball Bat]].
* Averted in ''Manga/LoneWolfAndCub''; Ogami Itto and other bushi characters wipe them off after a fight, no swiping involved. Seeing the nature of the manga, [[ShownTheirWork that is to be expected]].
* Parodied in ''Manga/{{Nichijou}}'', where Yuuko swipes blood off of her fingers after her [[MundaneMadeAwesome hard-fought victory against a mosquito]].
* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', being a JidaiGeki, has this all the time; even Kenshin himself does it a few times despite his ThouShaltNotKill vow and reversed sword blade. Old habits die hard.
** Averted, however, in the ''Tsuiokuhen'' OVA: as Battousai, Kenshin would clean his blade with rice paper immediately after every successful assassination.
* The scene in ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'' after [[spoiler:Kariya Kagetoki cuts down Jin.]]
** Jin does this after killing some elite bodyguards who were blocking his path in the first episode.
* In ''Manga/SoulEater'', Medusa does this to Erika and the eldest Mizune sister. It's done with drool after she shoves her hands in their mouths to make them shut up. [[spoiler: It turns out to be a bit of subtle foreshadowing, as she later reveals she did this to [[BodyHorror implant them with snakes]] which allow her to kill them at any time]].
* Performed by Kirito of ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' after finishing off enemies he fights in the game. This becomes a habit later [[spoiler:after he returns to his normal life and practices kendo with his adoptive sister]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Comics ]]
* Standard post-fight procedure in ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo''. He still cleans the blade properly afterward, though.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'':
** One of Kyril's habits is to swing his [[SerratedBladeOfPain Saw Cleaver]] or the [[SpellBlade Holy Moonlight]] [[{{BFS}} Sword]] down to flick the blood off of the blade.
** Combined with VictoryPose, Hugh rids his [[KatanasAreJustBetter Chikage]] of blood of Michelle after their TrialByCombat ending with a SingleStrokeBattle. A bit ironic considering that the katana [[BloodMagic consumes blood]], but it still works.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]
* Done somewhat by ''[[Film/ThreeHundred 300]]'' where a scene shows blood being flung off a thrust spearhead.
* Springtrap does this in ''Film/FiveNightsAtFreddys2023'' as he moves to kill Mike. [[spoiler:It serves as a case of [[ActorAllusion meta]] {{foreshadowing}} that Creator/MatthewLillard's character (introduced earlier under the fake name Steve Raglan, later revealed as William Afton) is the man wearing the Springtrap suit, given that he had played one of the Ghostface killers in the below-mentioned ''Film/Scream1996''.]]
* Happens several times in the Crazy 88 battle in ''Film/KillBill'', as well as after the fight between O-Ren and The Bride.
** ''And'' when O-Ren deals with the belligerent Yakuza boss. Realistically, however, the sword is still clearly bloody as she sheaths it right after.
* Referenced in ''Film/TheLastSamurai''. After beheading his former comrade, Katsumoto's sole act of cleaning his weapon is something of a flick of the sword.
* A trademark trait of the Ghostface killers in the ''Film/{{Scream}}'' movies is wiping off the blood from their knives with either their gloves or robes after a kill. Behind the scenes, this was an idea that one of the stunt performers came up with in order to avoid continuity problems in the first film, which has stuck with the series since then. In [[Film/Scream2022 the fifth film]], [[spoiler:Sam doing this after brutally killing Ghostface highlights [[LikeFatherLikeSon her similarity to her birth father Billy Loomis]]]].
* In the ''Franchise/StarWars'' series, the bloodless version is part of the Makashi salute as demonstrated by Count Dooku, which is inspired by real-life fencing (see below).
* Interestingly, the ronin bodyguard does this several times in ''Film/{{Zatoichi}}'', which uses CGI blood, but there's usually still blood on his sword when he sheaths it.
* ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' has Ronin [[spoiler: aka Clint Barton]] slaughter his way through several thugs with a sword, vengefully execute the last one, then wipe off the blade in the crook of his elbow before sheathing it again.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]
* In Creator/RogerZelazny's ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfAmber'', Merlin at one point finds himself in possession of a vorpal sword. He discovers while using it that swiping the air cleans it perfectly. Probably justified for a collapsible blade that "seemed to be made of moth wings and folded moonlight".
* ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia: Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' averts this when Peter saves his sister from a wolf by killing him with his sword. When Aslan comes onto the scene, his first comment is that Peter has not cleaned his sword. Peter does so and the lion dubs him with an honorific, followed by the advice to always clean his sword.
** It's a bit of a RunningGag in the series, all the way up to ''Literature/TheLastBattle'' when the King reprimands Eustace for putting his sword back in the sheath bloody. There are also a few mentions of this trope being averted when they wipe the blade on the grass.
* Diagonally used in ''Tower of the Elephant'' by Robert E. Howard. Conan wipes his blade on the grass after slaying the lion guards of the tower. Noted because it serves the same purpose (symbolic cleaning of the sword) but averts the cleanliness of merely shaking it off, adding a barbaric twist to the trope.
* Galad does this in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', but characters usually just clean their weapons with a cloth, because the swipe is not 100% effective.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]
* The [[spoiler: samurai]] in ''Series/DeadliestWarrior'''s [[spoiler: Viking v. Samurai]] fight does this disdainfully once he's finished.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones''. Various badass characters are seen doing this, either on a handy cloth or the person, they've just killed (Brienne uses her own sleeve in one episode). Strangely averted the first time we see Bronn; he puts a bloody sword back into his scabbard in "The Wolf and the Lion".
* "Series/IntotheBadlands": Averted multiple times in the Season 2 opener. Both The Widow and Tilda think nothing of sheathing bloody weapons.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]
* A combat feat to do this menacingly exists in ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}''. Downing a foe with the Killing Finish feat, provided for use in [[GladiatorGames performance combat,]] results in a demoralizing spray of blood against nearby enemies as you prepare for the next one. The Mythic Champion ability ''Clean Blade'' goes a step further and involves taking a free action after a successful critical hit to swipe the blood and gore off your blade directly onto an opponent, sickening opponents and potentially blinding them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]
* Vergil does this quite a few times with his sword, Yamato, in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3DantesAwakening''. In the climax, he does it intentionally to spread his blood on a mechanism after cutting his palm in an attempt to undo the BloodMagic spell that Sparda cast on Temen-ni-gru.
* Caim from ''VideoGame/{{Drakengard}}'' does a variation. He does the kill and the cleaning in the same swing.
* A non-PlayerCharacter version occurs in ''VideoGame/FarCry3''. [[AmoralAfrikaner South African slaver]] Hoyt Volker has just beat Jason Brody in a game of poker and decides to [[{{Fingore}} cut off one of Jason's fingers]] every time he loses. His men restrain Jason, and Hoyt pulls a knife [[spoiler:out of Jason's dead friend Sam's neck]] and shakes it over the table, spraying it with [[spoiler:Sam's]] blood.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemRadiantDawn'' Ike's finish animation after killing an opponent includes him doing this twice.
* In ''Videogame/GhostOfTsushima'', the player can have Jin sheathe the blade manually by swiping right on the Touchpad, and if the sword is bloody, Jin will enact this trope. There are several variations, including the classic swipe-to-the-ground, pulling the blade back quickly towards the elbow, running the katana through the crease of his left elbow, and in the Director's Cut, giving the sword a quick spin.
* [[TheLeader GySgt Edward]] [[SergeantRock Buck]] from ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'' does this with his combat knife after stabbing a [[AlwaysChaoticEvil Brute]] [[TheBerserker Chieftan]] to death.
* Yasuo in ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' is an IaijutsuPractitioner who always does this motion before sheathing his sword. He even has two animations for doing it; one when standing still, and a second when on the run.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearRisingRevengeance'' has Raiden doing a few variants on this. After an extended combo string, he simply whips the sword to the side and goes back to his [[IdleAnimation Idle Animation]]. After defeating the RAY the first time, he does the same, then runs the sword through the crease of his elbow, before sheathing it. This would clean the blade, [[FridgeLogic if it actually had any blood on it.]] That is also his victory pose in the VR Training missions. After performing a stealth kill ("Ninja Kill") on a humanoid cyborg from behind, Raiden whips the sword to the side, the blood noticeably flying off the blade and splattering onto the nearby surface. Considering the nature of [[VibroWeapon his weapon]], it might not even be necessary to begin with.
* Ryu does this automatically with all of his weapons in ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden 2''.
** In ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden''/''Black''/''Sigma'', he does it after using the new Ultimate Technique with the True Dragon Sword, Storm of the Heavenly Dragon.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Onechanbara}}'' games, this is a gameplay mechanic where slicing through hordes of [[ZombieApocalypse zombies]] (whose blood is probably well-rotted) without cleaning the blade can cause it to get stuck in the corpse, leaving the player vulnerable.
* Notably averted by Ryoma from ''VideoGame/PowerStone''; one of his victory poses involves him wiping off the blade with a few pieces of paper and letting them [[DramaticWind dramatically fly away in the breeze]].
* Raidou Kuzunoha does this after every battle in ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy''.
* Tyrants in ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' seem to do this after they've [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice killed you.]]
* One of Ukyo's win poses in ''VideoGame/SamuraiShodown''.
* In the intro video for ''VideoGame/TotalWarShogun2'', the winner of the duel does this before sheathing his sword. [[spoiler:Right before he got shot in the back by the beaten monk's allies in the fortress. UsefulNotes/TakedaShingen was not impressed.]]
* One of the Ranger's sheathing animations in ''VideoGame/XCOM2'' is a flick before placing their {{machete|Mayhem}} back in its scabbard.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeResolute'', after finishing off a machine gun-equipped Cobra {{mook}} in a SingleStrokeBattle, Snake Eyes pulls off one of these.
* ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' does this after every fight, but generally with [[MachineBlood oil or somesuch.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]
* A variant of this with no blood finishes off the modern fencing salute: holding one's sword to their face, {{Stab The Sky}} and Swipe Your Blade Off.
* In fact, the cutting motion in the air is only one type of ''chiburi''; other known motions include [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOtzUF83Uwo twirling the sword in one hand]] or audibly smacking the wrist of the hand holding the sword (in the case of wakizashi).
* There's some discussion and debate amongst modern iaido and kenjitsu practitioners as to whether the chiburui's primary purpose was to get the blood off at all. While it will shake some of the blood off if it's a particularly messy cut (or if you just killed multiple people), the use of a cloth to wipe off the rest is more or less essential for anyone who doesn't want a rusty sword. Other interpretations of the chiburui include a signal to any surviving opponents that hostilities were over (while still keeping the sword in a position where it could be used if said opponent didn't agree) or to ingrain a habit for the samurai to take a moment to check his surroundings for any additional threats before sheathing his blade.
[[/folder]]

----