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Signature Scene / Anime & Manga

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Lupin can steal from anyone - including himself!
L - R, top to bottom:

Signature Scenes in anime & manga.

Examples With Their Own Pages

  • AKIRA:
  • Attack on Titan: The Colossal Titan's head and hand creeping over Wall Maria is the very first scene that sets the plot in motion, and is prominent in the series' marketing; it's also most representative of the story's main theme (i.e., a Titan invasion that breaks a century-long peace granted by the Walls, and the vastly overwhelmed humans making a last stand against them.
  • Beastars: The fountain scene, given its duality as a "shit gets real" moment and as a starting point for the main relationship.
  • Berserk: The first time Guts is seen using his iconic weapon, the Dragonslayer, and Puck's narration describing it ("It was much too big to be called a sword. Massive, thick, heavy and far too rough. Indeed it was like a heap of raw iron"). The description in particular becomes a reocurring thing throughout the story.
  • Beyblade: The flashback in Metal Fight Beyblade showing Moses parting the Red Sea with a Beyblade. It's such a Refuge in Audacity moment on par with Yu-Gi-Oh!'s "Ancient Egyptians invented card games" that even non-Beyblade fans are aware of this through Popcultural Osmosis.
  • Death Note:
    • The first episode's montage of Light killing multiple criminals in quick succession. It serves as the catalyst for Light’s descent into madness and features “Low Of Solipsism”, a Signature Song of the anime.
    • Ryuk appearing in front of Light and seeing Light’s note full of names, which serves as a memorable image from their first meeting.
    • "I'll take a potato chip... (deep breaths) AND EAT IT!", a line from a scene deemed as iconic due to the sheer amount of Mundane Made Awesome it exudes.note 
    • Matsuda’s A Day In The Lime Light in the Yotsuba HQ, which is most commonly cited as one of the most memorable moments for an Ensemble Dark Horse character like him.
    • Mikami killing Demegawa and his cronies, with DELETE. The scene raises many questions, and is a shocking revelation that Light has recruited another person to be Kira.
    • The laughing scene. You know the one. The Italian version of this scene gets the most love, but the English one is also iconic.
  • Chainsaw Man:
    • It's hard to discuss the manga or anime at all without the memetic panel of Denji setting his first goal beyond basic survival:
    Denji: I want to touch some boobs.
    • The entire Hell sequence during the International Assassin arc qualifies, but especially the appearance of the first Primal Fear devil in the story, the Darkness Devil. Wordlessly walking through a corridor of bisected, praying astronauts, Darkness effortlessly tears the team apart until they can just barely escape.
  • Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: The entire fight between Tanjiro and Rui during that same episode, as it quickly started making rounds on the internet after the episode first aired. Not only is the fight well-animated and emotionally charged, the story beats behind it also encapsulate the series' themes very well.
  • For Digimon Tamers Impmon's Heel–Face Turn and transformation into Beelzemon Blast Mode is highly regarded, to the point that this episode, and this episode alone, was rerun on Japanese TV to promote the Blu-Ray box.
  • Dragon Quest: Your Story: The sudden plot twist near the end of the movie where it’s revealed that the world and its characters are computer simulations in a VR game, which completely overshadowed the rest of the movie as it was otherwise a mostly faithful adaptation of Dragon Quest V.
  • If you ever heard of F-Zero: GP Legend, it was most likely due to the "Falcon Punch" scene. That scene became so iconic of the series (both anime and game) that it quickly achieved Memetic Mutation status.
  • Fullmetal Alchemist: The scene where Ed and Al learn that Shou Tucker fused his daughter, Nina, and dog, Alexander, into a chimera. This moment is remembered not only for how utterly horrifying it was, but for also generally being considered the moment the manga grew its beard.
  • Grand Blue
    • A typical Seinen story about college life is instantly undone in a two-page spread of the first chapter of the Manga, where the protagonist sees the male members of a diving club half- to completely naked playing drinking games, thus establishing the comedic insanity the audience are to expect.
    • In another moment featuring the protagonist, he's tricked into drinking what seems to be a glass of water, but following a Beat, he checks what he drank with a lighter. When the drink catches fire (because it's actually vodka), he throws the glass to the ground in a fit of rage. This sets the tone on the amount of Trolling pulled between the characters against one another.
  • Interstella 5555: The opening music video set to "One More Time". In some countries it was the only part of the film to be shown on television.
  • Gundam:
  • Hajime no Ippo: Ippo's completed Dempsey Roll against Sendou at the end of the Japanese Featherweight Championship has become one of the most iconic scenes. It's had Shout Outs in games like Super Street Fighter IV and Tekken for starters.
  • Higurashi: When They Cry:
    • Keiichi's delusions of Rena from Onikakushi, especially the "Usoda!" and laughing scenes. In fact, it's such a memorable scene, people assumed everyone in that show was an Axe-Crazy person when it's not the case.
    • Rena vs Keiichi on top of the school. The visual novels even include it in almost every opening.
  • Hunter × Hunter: Gon's epic Freak Out when Pitou begs to be spared so s/he can heal Komugi. Notable for most fans for just how terrifying and out-of-character it is.
  • I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying:
    • Hajime greeting Kaoru's friends while wearing a horse mask,
    • Kaoru crying into her husband Hajime after finding out they're expecting.
  • JoJo's Bizarre Adventure:
    • Phantom Blood: Dio Brando stealing Erina's Sacred First Kiss and gloating about it is the best-known scene of this part thanks to the huge amounts of memes based on it, to the point that a non-fan could assume that "But it was me, Dio!" is his catchphrase.
    • Battle Tendency:
    • Stardust Crusaders: The final fight with DIO is well-known, in particular for being the source of one of the most iconic time-stop abilities in fiction. Prior to the 2012 anime making the series more prominent outside of Japan, the one thing Westerners were likely to know about JoJo was that the villain is named DIO and he crushes the hero with a road roller.
    • Diamond is Unbreakable:
      • Josuke using Crazy Diamond to punch Okuyasu's spaghetti. In context, he's using it to draw out what he believes to be an enemy Stand, but the sheer ridiculousness of the scene out of context and Josuke's declaration of "I'm gonna fix that spaghetti!" has led it to becoming the most famous out of context scene in the entire series.
      • Among western fans, the scene of Kira eating lunch in the park is this, due to the infamous "Duwang" translation, with this scene being where the translation gets its name.
    • Golden Wind:
      • Giorno healing Mista after their fight against Ghiaccio, due to the extreme amounts of Ho Yay within the scene.
      • The 7-page beatdown on Cioccolata (or 30 seconds in the anime) administered by Giorno is one of the most famous beatdowns in anime history.
    • Stone Ocean: Pucci effortlessly killing the main cast, sans Emporio, and resetting the universe. Arguably the closest the series has gotten to The Bad Guy Wins since Phantom Blood.
    • Steel Ball Run: Gyro tells Hot Pants off by saying "Eat shit, asshole! Fall off your horse!", and later singing a song about mozzarella pizza.
    • JoJolion: Josuke's Naked on Arrival introduction and Yasuho noticing his four testicles.
  • Lupin III:
    • The pilot film:
    • The Castle of Cagliostro:
      • The car chase during the first act. Easily one of Miyazaki's finest sequences, and one rumored to have been called one of the greatest car chases put to film by Steven Spielberg himself.
      • Lupin and Jigen trying to steal a ball of spaghetti off each other's plates while simultaneously having a conversation. It's even referenced in other anime and manga, like Trigun.
  • Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's has Nanoha walking Out of the Inferno and being called a devil. This could also be considered the most iconic scene in the franchise, as it gave birth to Nanoha's Fan Nickname.
  • There's a surprising number of people who know of the "falling kiss" scene from MÄR without knowing what show it came from.
  • Maria Watches Over Us: The scene where Sachiko fixes the neckerchief of Yumi's Sailor Fuku at the start of the anime is still probably the most iconic scene in all of the Yuri Genre.
  • Monster: Tenma and Johan meeting for the first time in decades, followed by Johan killing Adolf Junkers in cold blood, which demonstrates how much of an irredeemable bastard Johan is.
  • Moomin (1990): The Groke appearing on the Moominhouse's porch in "Tiny Guests", scaring Sniff and many viewers.
  • Naruto:
    • Naruto sitting by himself on a swing, watching all the kids who graduated celebrating with their parents, while he is an orphan who failed for the third time. An image the series often returns to, usually to show how far he's come.
    • Naruto discussing his aspirations over a bowl of ramen with Iruka. Notable for being the first time he states his intention of being Hokage.
    • The demon fox inside of Naruto awakening as Naruto furiously declares his intent to kill Haku at the climax of the Zabuza arc.
    • Gaara vs Rock Lee is undoubtedly the best remembered fight in Part 1, and probably the most well remembered fight in the series period when compared to its significance within the story, in a similar vein to Piccolo vs 17.
  • Neon Genesis Evangelion: The long take between Rei and Asuka in the elevator is one of the strangest directing choices in the show and has received quite a few homages in other series.
    • The End of Evangelion: When most people about "that scene" they are referring to the infamous opening scene, where Shinji masturbates over a comatose Asuka.
      • The final scene, where Shinji and Asuka are the last two humans left on Earth, alone together on a barren shore next to a sea of LCL, is so iconic that it's on almost every DVD cover for the film.
  • Pokémon: The Series:
    • Ash and Pikachu seeing Ho-oh for the first time. This Pokemon was new and hadn't been in any of the games when this occurred, so nobody knew what it was. This had fans guessing, speculating, and wondering for years until it was fully revealed. It was the first of a trend of showing new Pokemon in the anime before the games they appear in come out. Now this is expected, but at the time...what a shocker.
    • Just prior to the Ho-oh encounter, Pikachu saving Ash from a flock of Spearow, officially kickstarting their everlasting friendship that carries over to this day.
    • Latios' spirit saying goodbye to Latias in Pokémon Heroes. Extra shocking, because this is the first time a Pokemon's death is not reversed in some way.
    • The battle between Infernape and Electivire in the Sinnoh League is the signature fight of the entire Diamond and Pearl series, with the moment of Infernape activating Blaze in a massive inferno towards the climax being its signature scene, capping off an entire saga of one of Ash's most intense rivalries.
    • The subsequent battle with Tobias has Sceptile's defeat of Darkrai, a scene that didn't just come to define Sceptile as one of Ash's best after defeating a Darkrai that has torn its way through Sinnoh and half of Ash's team already without a loss, but a bright spot of Ash's skill in the midst of one of the most infamous means of eliminating Ash from a league.
    • Serena kissing Ash in the last episode of the XY series. Notable for breaking the No Hugging, No Kissing rule of the anime, and solidifying Amourshipping as one of most iconic ships in the franchise.
    • Ash finally winning a League and the ensuing trophy celebration, simply because he totally deserved it after so many failures and ridiculous losses.
  • Pokémon Origins: Red's Charmander screaming bloody murder when Blue's Squirtle uses Bite on its neck. This is a brutal scene in the Japanese version because of Charmander's voice actor. It even shows Charmander's flame getting weaker, which if you read the Pokedex entries you'll know that means it's nearing death. Pokemon battles are not usually portrayed as this violent and disturbing.
  • In Futari wa Pretty Cure, the part of the opening song, where Cure Black and Cure White jump away from an explosion, with smoke and dust are just right behind them. It has been repeated in many Pretty Cure All Stars movies, with New Stage tops it with all 28 of the Cures reenact the scene, and F goes futher by including all 79 Cures doing it at the start of the final battle.
  • Puella Magi Madoka Magica: One particular scene got so many parodies it has its own Danbooru tag: the one in episode 3 where Mami dies a gory (though only partially seen) death by decapitation, as it marks the point where the series fully drops the cutesy facade and becomes the Trope Codifier for the Magical Girl Genre Deconstruction it is famous for being.
  • Samurai Flamenco: The end of episode 7, when A drugged man turns into a half gorilla, half guillotine creature and decapitates some cops, in a show that had been very realistic and lighthearted until that moment.
  • School Days is best known for the highly violent and disturbing ending, in which Sekai murders Makoto for dumping her, followed in short succession by a deeply insane Kotonoha killing Sekai and taking Makoto's severed head with her on a sailboat.
  • Spy X Family:
    • Loid Forger proposing to Yor Briar with a hand grenade's pin in lieu of a ring while said hand grenade explodes behind them while they're on the run from some criminals that were following Loid, occuring in Chapter 2/Episode 2. It's become an iconic image of how their Marriage of Convenience starts off.
    • The image of the Forger family sitting at a table◊, with corpses piled up behind Yor and guns and masks behind Loid, and Anya clearly looking at the latter. It was used in an opening narration for the manga and anime, setting the tone of the manga about people having sides of themselves that they never show to anyone.
    • Anya's smirk that she gives Damian in her attempt to brush off his initial bullying has become iconic enough that 'Anya face' is basically a term for this smirk. In the same vein, her epic Megaton Punch she gives Damian when he pushes her too far.
  • Tomorrow's Joe: The ending scene, in which the titular protagonist collapses at his corner stool and is all but said to have peacefully passed away as a result of his final fight. Many other series since then have paid tribute to Tomorrow's Joe by having different characters replicate the manner in which Joe slumps over.
  • Trigun: Vash's disastrous attempt at driving is one of the more iconic comic relief moments in Trigun Maximum and frequently depicted in fanart. As for more serious scenes, the scene of Vash and Wolfwood drinking on a couch, with the kids at Wolfwood's orphanage welcoming him home and dropping confetti on him from the sky as he dies is the most remembered and effective scene from the manga and frequently shows up in fanart.
  • Yu-Gi-Oh! has several across the various entries in the franchise.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Monsters has a few.
      • First is the summoning of Exodia and using it's instant win condition against Kaiba, being the end of the first duel in the first international series.
      • The second is the climax of the Doma arc duel with Weevil where Dark Yugi, having reached his Rage Breaking Point, using 'Berserker Soul' to strike Weevil again, and again, and again, and again after one taunt too many until Tea stops him.
      • The scene where Dark Yugi/Atem leaves for the Afterlife could also count, and giving a last thumbs up.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds:
      • Yusei beating up several of Goodwin's guards with his bare hands to confront Jack. It even survives into the dub with only flashes of light despite being explicit physical violence in a Yu-Gi-Oh series.
      • The first Synchro Summoning of Majestic Star Dragon, the first Accel Synchro Summoning of Shooting Star Dragon, and the Limit Over Accel Synchro Summoning of Shooting Quasar Dragon are without a doubt the most iconic and most remembered Synchro Summons of the entire franchise.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL:
      • Kaito's introduction episode where he casually stops time and eviscerates Yuma in a duel.
      • Yuma and Astral doing their first Zexal Morph and making C39: Utopia Ray.
      • Kaito and Yuma vs Trey and Quattro, ending with Kaito's first summon of Neo Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon.
      • Kaito and Mizael's final match happening on the moon, while seeing him gain his own Number in Number 62: Galaxy-Eyes Prime Photon Dragon.
      • Yuma and Astral's final duel, particularly Yuma creating his own Number in Future Number 0: Utopic Future as the capstone to his character arc.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V:
      • The turning point of the first match of the series when Yuya's pendant changing Yuya's cards into Pendulum Cards and him performing his first Pendulum Summon.
      • Reiji using Fusion, Synchro and Xyz Summoning for the first time on-screen, which is also the first time those three summoning methods were used in the franchise by the same duelist. The fact that he also Pendulum Summons during that duel is just the icing on the cake.
      • Odd-Eyes Raging Dragon's first summon, accompanied by the Awakened Yuya shouting "There is no next turn!". While this card would only appear twice, the monster stole the show in its debut thanks to its awesome design, powerful effect and Yuya's burning rage
      • Supreme King Dragon Z-ARC's summoning. People will often clip this whenever they summon Z-ARC in a duel in real life.
    • Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS has one in the dub where a Knight of Hanoi criticizes side character Naoki Sima for dabbing in public, used to show the quality of the dub's humor and wit after several previously poor efforts.

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