History Main / BlastingTime

->''"When {{Literature/Carrie}} started to get really good at telekinesis, I noticed she used her hands a lot. She was gesturing with them like a music conductor. You know who does that when they use telekinesis? People who aren’t telekinetic. Magicians and crap."''
-->-- Film.com, [[http://www.mtv.com/news/2771196/telekinetic-teenage-girl-carrie/ "We Asked a Telekinetic Teenage Girl with a Crazy Mother to Fact-Check ‘Carrie’"]]

* A few attacks in ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes'' and ''VideoGame/CityOfVillains'' use this animation, most notably Ionic Judgement (raise arms to gather lightning, release bolt), Neutron Bomb (charge up glowy orb, throw) and Thunderous Blast (shakily charge up electricity, release electrical bolt).
* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': The Blood Mage's spellcasting animation has him wave his arms around then bring them up. Most notable on his Flame Strike spell, which conjures up pillar of fire just as he brings his arms down.

* ''Anime/DragonBallZ''. Goku's [[CombinedEnergyAttack Spirit Bomb]] adapts the straight up then bomb position, while the [[KamehameHadoken Kamehameha]] used start with the arms spread wide at approximately 2 and 10 before cupping the gathered energy at the waist (though later they skipped that part and went straight to cup-and-fire); Vegeta, meanwhile, is more adept at chain blasting. Vegeta also has the Final Flash, in which he holds his arms out to his sides while charging up the attack and then brings his arms forward with hands cupped together (horizontally rather than the Kamehameha's vertical alignment) to fire the attack.

* "Blasting" spells in ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'', from the basic Fireball to the [[SphereOfDestruction Dragon Slave]] are often cast this way, with the mage in question raising her hands as she recites the incantation. Quite justified because the FunctionalMagic of ''Slayers'' is basically {{Theurgy}}, with black magic in particular requiring calling upon the power of the resident {{God of Evil}} or some of his almost-as-powerful spawn; it's basically a praying gesture.
* A few times in the ''Anime/RanmaOneHalf'' animation, though more often than not they will gather energy in their hands by holding them to the ''side'' rather than above. In the case of Ryouga's the Shishi Hokodan, the manga depiction will usually have him cross his arms over his chest, and he will only push his palms forward to channel the ki at the last second.

[[folder:Live-Action TV]

* ''Anime/DigimonXrosWars'': In episode 31, [=OmegaShoutmon=] performs an anticlockwise version of this when unleashing a [[ChestBlaster Heavy Metal Vulcan]] on the mass of [[OurDragonsAreDifferent Dorbickmon's minions]] [[FoeTossingCharge through which he had just torn]].

* In ''The Big Comicbook/{{Fables}} Crossover'', Fantasy (as in the Genre [[AnthropomorphicPersonification given physical form]]) would routinely lob magical blasts this way.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' fighting games:

* Most [[FireIceLightning nature-oriented]] Mages in the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' series use this form while casting spells. Shamans (dark spellcasters) do it in reverse -- holding their hands in front of themselves to charge the power up before raising them to unleash it.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

Similar to the PstandardPsychicPstance, this [[StockPoses pose]] is meant to give motion and direction to what would normally be intangible forces and liven up dull scenes. In the story itself, this is probably {{justified|Trope}} as being necessary for the FullContactMagic, [[PlayingWithFire pyrokinesis]] or CombinedEnergyAttack to be properly executed, in which case immobilizing the arms effectively stops the attack or forces a misfire.

Whenever characters with energy-projecting MagicAndPowers want to make a big impact crater, they'll follow the sweep of a clock when firing. Much like throwing a baseball, they will raise their arms straight up at 12, start SuckingInLines, then lower one or both arms to 3 (or whatever angle their target is at) and let loose. If the character is very fast, he or she may even "chain throw" KiAttacks by alternating charging and throwing between arms, much like a swimmer's strokes.

* ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'': Channeling is a ThoughtControlledPower with no need for {{Magical Gesture}}s, but channelers often end up performing specific gestures alongside their Weaves anyway and can struggle to do the latter without the former. One channeler notes that it's a rare [[MagicalSociety Aes Sedai]] who can [[PlayingWithFire throw a fireball]] without making some kind of throwing motion, purely because of how universal and ingrained the habit is.