History Main / CleanCut

* ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}'': During the final battle of the movie, John Preston disarms and incapacitates his former partner with four quick, obviously fatal slices. The former partner sinks to his knees and looks shocked before his face slides off.

* In the short story [[http://dailysciencefiction.com/story/desmond-warzel/epinikion "Epinikion"]] by Desmond Warzel, the alien Squids have natural weaponry that not only does this to their human opponents, but leaves them alive for several hours after being bisected.

** [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyX Yojimbo's]] [[LimitBreak Zanmato]] attack works similarly, with the bonus of working on bosses as well ([[LuckBasedMission despite it being extremely difficult to use]]).

* Averted in ''Franchise/StarWars''. The lightsabers do cut through almost anything (they cannot cut through other lightsabers, cortosis blades, Phrik or blades created by Sith alchemy, and it can be difficult to make them cut through anything with an electromagnetic field), but are obviously immune from material limitations, what with being plasma and all. Also people don't spend half a minute looking shocked before falling to pieces. Limbs and appendages tend to fly all over the place, although [[BloodlessCarnage bleeding is very limited]] as the laser cauterizes as it cuts, and leaves a gap due to the width of the blade and the fact that surrounding flesh is heated white hot and thus charred.\\\

* A Xenomorph falls victim to this in ''Film/AlienVsPredator''.

* [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-zagged]] in ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls''. Kyril has SuperStrength, but not all of his strikes with his [[SerratedBladeOfPain serrated cleaver]] are able to effortlessly pass through flesh and bone. For example, despite having enough strength to sever a person in two vertical halves, most of his attacks to the head bite deep into the skull instead of passing through the torso vertically, indicating that he does put effort into each strike (though still enough to be lethal). Although there are times where he slices a foe with little effort[[note]]e.g. the first strike he delivers to a mutant in Chapter 34 is compared to cutting air[[/note]], those attempts are never consistent. Ultimately a demonstration of near-realistic fights that involve an edged weapon by showing how they tend to leave rough, nasty, and horrible wounds (then again, a fanfic like this one doesn't have to worry about pesky things like animation costs).

%% Needs Context * Same thing goes for Shiki Ryougi in ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners''.

* Twilight Suzuka of ''Anime/OutlawStar'' clean cuts through a delivery truck (among other things), lengthwise as it drives at her, with a ''wooden sword.''

* ''Manga/ChainsawMan'': Denji's chainsaws are powerful weapons that he typically swings around and stabs enemies with to shread their flesh, but he can also perform a Clean Cut if he puts his mind to it.

* ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'''s Shiki Tohno can see "lines of death" on pretty much everything, and any cuts he makes along these lines are Clean Cuts.
** Same thing goes for Shiki Ryougi in ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners''.

** In all fairness, he did have some vision from his [[GogglesDoSomethingUnusual sunglasses]].

* Goemon, in ''Franchise/LupinIII'', does this regularly. In one movie, he cuts through a helicopter's blades in such a way that they stay on for a few seconds ''while still turning and keeping the chopper in mid air.''

* ''Manga/SgtFrog'': Dororo seems to be a master of this.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 4'' and ''World at War'' kind of exhibits this trope for bullets, as the game allows you to shoot through certain materials - many things make sense for the bullets to go through, like wood and sheet metal, and they always do so with reduced damage. However, once they start shooting through stone, it kinda stretches it since the bullets can still go through and actually hurt. If they implemented a mechanic that allows you to permanently damage all material, it might make more sense with continuous shooting, but, there currently isn't.
* In ''VideoGame/JediKnight2'', there is a cheat setting that allows the lightsaber to do this, accurately slicing models along the cuts, making it possible to filet enemies and friends alike. The setting to allow this implies that it was a feature of the game that was censored.

* One of Yashas attacks from ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath''.

* ''Series/SweetHome'': Jae-heon slices off half a monster's head with ease. Especially notable because his sword is a keepsake, therefore he probably doesn't sharpen it regularly.

* Guillotines. In fact, that's the whole point; they were invented to make a beheading more humane than an axe, which was rarely ''ever'' clean.

* Notably [[AvertedTrope averted]] in ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls''. Kyril has SuperStrength, but not all of his strikes with his [[SerratedBladeOfPain serrated cleaver]] are able to effortlessly pass through flesh and bone. For example, despite having enough strength to sever a person in two vertical halves, most of his attacks to the head bite deep into the skull instead of passing through the torso vertically, indicating that he does put effort into each strike (though still enough to be lethal). Ultimately a demonstration of near-realistic fights that involve an edged weapon by showing how they tend to leaving rough, nasty, and horrible wounds (then again, a fanfic like this one doesn't have to worry about pesky things like animation costs).

** {{Lampshaded}} in ''Literature/InterestingTimes''. A messenger delivers bad news to Lord Hong. Lord Hong picks up the sword he's working on. The messenger, who can't bear to look, shuts his eyes and hears the swish of the blade. When he opens his eyes, he's still alive. He gingerly touches his neck... "you heard terrible stories about Lord Hong's swords." Turns out he had cut the head off a would-be assassin.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[VisualNovel/FateStayNight A man of twelve lives]] is not immune to [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} seventeen clean slashes]].]]

[[quoteright:225:[[Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cit_nasuverse_-_t-moon_complex_x_-_shiki_vs_berserker_-_we_gave_shiki_god_mode_-_let_us_see_if_anyone_notices.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:225:Yes, he CAN kill servants. [[note]] Only under very specific circumstances. Also, this image came from a doujinshi. [[/note]]]]

!!Example:

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' has Yamato, a katana apparently so sharp it can effortlessly cut through several feet of stone. From about half a mile away. Also used to separate dimensions.
** Not to mention Dante's Rebellion. It cuts a cubic meter of solid steel/stone/magic die neatly in half.
** With Yamato, Vergil swishes his sword, turns around, puts it in his scabbard, waits a second... and then as he clicks it in the enemy is slashed apart by the attack -- multiple times. It's like a time delayed series of slashes.
*** One of the enemies even manages to speak several lines after the slash, before its head goes in pieces.

** The game has this as one of its main gameplay features. Being able to cut cyborgs/the environment/giant robots cleanly in two (or however many more) pieces.
** Notably, at one point this actually works ''against'' the person who made the cut. At the end of the ''Jetstream'' DLC, [[spoiler: [[{{TheRival}} Sam]] manages to cut off [[GreaterScopeVillain Armstrong's]] hand, leaving a stump. However, Armstrong's [[{{MadeOfIron}} body-hardening]] [[{{Nanomachines}} nanomachines]] turn the stump into a razor-sharp shiv, which Armstrong then uses to skewer Sam, crippling his arm. This, along with Armstrong's subsequent BreakingSpeech, sends Sam over the DespairEventHorizon and makes him [[{{FaceHeelTurn}} join up with Desperado.]]]]

* ''Film/Thir13enGhosts'' features this ''KarmicDeath'' for the cast member whose ulterior motives put the whole diabolical clockwork into action, in exchange for money. A sheet of glass descends from the ceiling, and for a few seconds he's frozen and can't move. His eyes blink, and then his front half succumbs to gravity as his back half remains suspended. Complete with ''GallowsHumor'' when an oblivious cast member asks, "Did the lawyer split?"

* ''ComicBook/Robin1993'': Tim tosses batarangs which effortlessly slice through the guns and sights of the private contractors Strader had hired to "clean up" the homeless victims of their illegal human experimentation who had survived the process.

* There is a scene in ''Film/ResidentEvil'' which traps several characters in a LaserHallway. The first is decapitated, the second cut in half through the waist, and the third gets "cubed" when the lasers make a grid that passes right through him.

!!Example

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Film/Underworld2003'': Selene slashes the BigBad as she leaps over him, and he has time to turn around, draw two swords, then look shocked before half of his head slides off.

* Averted in ''Franchise/StarWars''. The lightsabers do cut through almost anything (they cannot cut through other lightsabers, cortosis blades, Phrik or blades created by Sith alchemy, and it can be difficult to make them cut through anything with an electromagnetic field), but are obviously immune from material limitations, what with being plasma and all. Also people don't spend half a minute looking shocked before falling to pieces. Limbs and appendages tend to fly all over the place, although [[BloodlessCarnage bleeding is very limited]] as the laser cauterizes as it cuts, and leaves a gap due to the width of the blade and the fact that surrounding flesh is heated white hot and thus charred.
** Lightsabers also cannot cut superconductors. Apparently, the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse'' has room-temperature superconductors that can hold an edge. Combine that with {{Vibro Weapon}}s, and you get the vibro-shields (yes, shields used as swords, contrasted with the lightsaber's status as a sword used as a shield) of the Akk Guards, who fight [[Creator/SamuelLJackson Mace Windu]] in ''Shatterpoint''. Aside from the cauterizing, {{Vibro Weapon}}s in general can perform this trope just like lightsabers. Better, maybe, since cauterizing is not strictly part of the trope. However, hold a lightsaber against a superconductor for long enough and the whole thing will melt. Also, vibro weapons have less cutting power than lightsabers.

* Taken to the logical extreme with [[TheGrimReaper Death]]'s scythe in the ''{{Literature/Discworld}}'' series - so thin and fine that it sharpens on ''daylight'' and can cut a person's words to pieces. His sword too, introduced in ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'' is only visible at the edge, due to it cutting tiny pieces of the air in half. Said sword cut through, without any effort on the part of the wielder, in fact by accident, a large portion of the dining table at UU, as well as numerous forks, knives etc. So little effort was needed, in fact, that the wielder was rather surprised to find a large chunk of table falling away.

[[folder:LARP]]
* In the ''Dagorhir'' system of foam-padded swordfighting, any solid hit to a limb with a slashing weapon is considered to have cut it off. In this game, your limbs are essentially your {{hit points}}, and the only other damage that's tracked is damage to shields and armor; therefore there's no middle ground between OnlyAFleshWound and DeliberateInjuryGambit.
[[/folder]]

* Both this and DiagonalCut happen in ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'' before ''Shredder VS Silver Samurai'' truly begins with Silver Samurai practicing this on some trees as well as some Foot-bots before Shredder appears.

* Obsidian scalpels. Sharper than normal surgical steel scalpels, due to being a real-life example of (almost) being SharpenedToASingleAtom, but don't last as long, since obsidian is basically an exotic form of glass, and as such, breaks pretty easily.
** Obsidian has also been historically used as a weapon in cultures where proper metal work wasn't available. While sharper then even the sharpest steel crafted with modern metallurgy, it's rare for an obsidian weapon to survive more than a single blow before shattering.

* Swords made of Damascus/Damascene Steel are said to be capable of this, being [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Absurdly Sharp Blades]]. The wavy patterns on them are really cool too. However, the forging technique has been lost to history.
** Though the alloy has been more recently analyzed and applied to known historical techniques to good effects. It used folding techniques common to the time, along with an advanced alloying technique common to European swords to get the right amounts of hydrogen into the metal, but the specific alloy found in the famed Toledo swords involved an impurity of vanadium that was peculiar to an iron deposit in the region. (Vanadium wasn't discovered as an element for much longer.)

** Though it should be noted that since the amount you could cut through is just as dependent on momentum, mass distribution, and blade cross section as on sharpness, this trait isn't unique to the famously sharp Katana. It's just that no culture other then the Japanese used unarmored and restrained corpses cut in one blow as a unit of measurement. One could probably cut through just as many with a well-made European, Middle-Eastern, or other Asian sword wielded in two hands.

May be {{justified|Trope}} (read: {{Hand Wave}}d) if the swords are explicitly magical, really high-tech, [[{{BFS}} unnaturally large]], or {{absurdly sharp|Blade}}. If weapon is RazorFloss, almost every hit is CleanCut.

* The parasites in ''{{Manga/Parasyte}}/Kiseijuu'' can turn parts of their bodies into blades that can slice and dice multiple humans in the blink of an eye. This happens ''a lot''.
* Integra ''{{Manga/Hellsing}}'' is [[BadassNormal Badass enough a Normal]] to easily slice apart Nazi vampires. She was using a sabre, though.

* ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'''s Shiki Tohno can see "lines of death" on pretty much everything, and any cuts he makes along these lines are {{Clean Cut}}s.
** Same thing goes for Shiki Ryougi in ''LightNovel/{{Kara no Kyoukai}}''.

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima'' has [[spoiler: Negi's]] arm severed cleanly ([[spoiler: and later [[WhiteMagic re-attached]]]]), but here it's [[AWizardDidIt magic]], so it kind of makes sense.
* ''Anime/GoLion[=/=]{{Anime/Voltron}}'' loves this, as it occurs every time he uses the Juuohken/Blazing Sword, which is just about OncePerEpisode.
* {{Manga/Claymore}} has, with virtually EVERY SINGLE CUT, those on the business end not realizing they've been cut until they blast HighPressureBlood/suddenly lose an appendage or three. Sometimes both at once.

* ''{{Manga/Berserk}}'': While the wounds (pieces?) left by Guts' {{BFS}} are notably rough around the edges, most other talented sword users cut limbs cleanly to pieces.

* In ''FanFic/TheDarkLordsOfNerima'' Mousse defeats a youma called the Darkmistress this way.

* A Xenomorph falls victim to this in {{Film/AlienVsPredator}}

* This is what the [[AbsurdlySharpBlade Shardblades]] in ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' do to anything not living. If it is alive, it [[CleanCut Cleanly Cuts]] the ''[[SoulCuttingBlade soul]]''.

* The ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'' has a few weapons that can pull off a CleanCut: