Cooldown Hug: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

 

These days it's [[Subverted Trope|subverted]] almost as often as it's played straight, usually in the form of [[Deadly Hug|the hugger being stabbed]] somehow [[Don't Sneak Up On Me Like That|by the huggee]], though it's rarely fatal. Just as often, expect to see [[Interrupted Cooldown Hug]] stop the hugger before the calming finishes.

 

A common tactic of the [[Cuddle Bug]]. See also [[Kill Me Now or Forever Stay Your Hand]] and [[Mind Hug]], for when the hug is less literal. The [[Living Emotional Crutch]] may act as an ambulatory Cooldown Hug.

 

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* [[Invoked Trope|Intentionally]] pulled off by Hazuki in [[Eensy Weensy Monster]]. Apprently he's always wanted to try it...

* It is only when Asuka caresses Shinji's face tenderly does Shinji stop {{spoiler|attempting to strangle her}} in the ''[[End of Evangelion]]''.

** Also, Misato pulls Shinji close and {{spoiler|kisses him}} to try to motivate him out of his near-catatonic depression.

* Casca does this to Griffith as he's [[Shower of Angst|clawing at his arms until they bleed while taking a bath]] in ''[[Berserk]]''

** Natsuki does the same thing to {{spoiler|Shizuru, just one episode prior. Though it was really the kiss that had more effect, the hug was definitely part of it}}.

* The last episode of ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'' has a rather cruel [[Subverted Trope|subversion]], since it looks like Anthy is doing this to Utena as she's getting PO-ed at Akio, {{spoiler|but it turns out that Anthy just stabbed Utena in the back -- literally, with a sword}}.

* Possibly explained -though not properly used- in the Komi Naoshi oneshot, ''Koi No Kami Sama'': if chaos and Bad Things are happening around but not to Subject A, then the safest place to be is wrapped around Subject A's shoulders. The story being what it is, the hug is key to stopping the Chaos and Bad Things.

** Clare then does the same to Jeane when she's about to awake, complemented with some direct manipulation of Jeane's powers.

** Raki attempts it again at the end of the series, when Clare has presumably gone too far beyond the point of no return. It doesn't work, since struggling with herself for a few moments Clare attacks him, but ends up killing a fellow Claymore who knocks Raki out of the way at the last moment. That ''does'' make her snap out of it.

* Mochizuki Oboro in the manga ''[[Psyren]]'' has a slight deviation of the this as his actual power. He can heal people by hugging them.

** Hiryuu does this to Tatsuo at one point.

** Which is odd because he was baring his teeth at the time of the kiss.

** Which is notably different from most of the examples because it's done by someone who didn't really have a close relationship to Ed. Normally a cooldown hug is used as an affirmation of the huggers true love for the hugee (be it platonic or romantic).

** In the dubbed version and its subtitling, Ed can be heard (very softly) saying something along the lines of, "Mom... You're back," when hugged by Lt. Ross, thus confirming the emotional parental transference he experienced at that time which allowed the Cooldown Hug to work.

* In ''[[Busou Renkin]]'', after Kazuki {{spoiler|tuns into a victor, Tokiko's hug is what turns him back into a human}}. It wasn't permanent though.

* Played straight in ''[[Soul Eater]]'' as Maka {{spoiler|fires up her Black Blood to make herself as crazy as Crona, so that she can "synchronize" with him/her; connect psychically, then give him/her physical affection; even while Crona is trying to stab her. Since Maka hardens her Black Blood to deflect the hits, she's fine.}}

** Another, more recent example from Soul Eater: Marie hugs Stein {{spoiler|to bring him back from Medusa's insanity.}}

** Monferno goes under the effect of Blaze again in DP 163, and it takes two tries for Ash to get it under control. After this it evolves into Infernape.

* The climax of ''[[Gankutsuou]]'' has Albert do this to the Count, saving the day with [[The Power of Love]]!

* In the [[All There in the Manual|manga chapter]] of ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' that features the Lightning Squad, it's revealed that his time in the [[Artificial Human|illegal research facility]] left Erio very emotionally unstable and distrustful of everyone. When she was about to adopt him, Fate does this to Erio during one of his bouts of anger after he burns her hands.

* Taken very literally in ''[[Venus Versus Virus]]'', first Lucia hugs Sumire to snap her out of her beserk mode and later it is Sumire to hug Lucia has she is spinning out of control. Bonus points for [[Schoolgirl Lesbians|vaguely romantic overtones]].

* Classically subverted in the last few pages of ''[[Lone Wolf and Cub]]''. {{spoiler|After Itto is finally [[Killed Off for Real]], Retsudo holds his arms out like he's ready to grab and disarm little Daigoro. It turns out that Retsudo just wanted a hug, but that doesn't stop Daigoro from running him through.}}

** Koukin also does this to a berserk Hakufu to stop her from {{spoiler|killing Ukitsu with the Hyakuhekitou sword}}. He {{spoiler|takes the sword ''through the gut''}} before pulling her into his embrace, {{spoiler|forcing the entire thing right through his body and out his back}}! [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|The boy has balls of solid rock and an endless dedication to Hakufu which is jaw-dropping]].

* That's basically the primary combat technique of Rushuna in ''[[Grenadier]]''. E.g. she defeats {{spoiler|her [[Evil Twin]]}} Setsuna by hugging her, despite sustaining heavy wounds and falling unconscious. All Setsuna can do after seeing that is admit her defeat. That is also how {{spoiler|Yajirou defeats [[Big Bad]] Kaizan Doushi}}... except for the small detail that by hugging him, he causes him to fall some fifty meters onto a solid surface. He wasn't taking any chances, was he?

** To be fair, with the exception of Setsuna, most of the people she defeats this way are male, and with her a hug is more of a [[Marshmallow Hell|boobfaceplant]].

* MM uses a hug to stop Sanpeita's first [[Superpower Meltdown]] in ''[[Kemeko Deluxe]]''.

* In ''[[Deadman Wonderland]]'', Karako gives Nagi one of these when Nagi went berserk. And she {{spoiler|gets run through by Genkaku for it}}.

* A variation is used in ''[[The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'': {{spoiler|In the last episode of the first arc, Kyon ''kisses'' Haruhi in a closed space variant to stop her from destroying and remaking the world.}}

* ''[[Witch Hunter Robin]]'' gives one to [[Butt Monkey|Haruto Sakaki]] in the episde "Smells Like the Wandering Spirit." Her willingness to be openly affectionate to a teammate is one of the things that [[Fish Out of Water|sets her apart]] from her more uptight teammates.

* This is how [[Omamori Himari|Amakawa Yuuto]] stops {{spoiler|Shizuku}} from trying to kill someone and return to their peaceful everyday life. In a bit of a subversion, she actually [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|shows more emotion at this point than at any other point in the entire manga]].

** He also does this to an enraged Himari in an attempt to save her from her awakened demonic state.

* In ''[[Bitter Virgin]]'', Hinako does this to Daisuke {{spoiler|in order to stop him from killing her [[Attempted Rape|would-be rapist]] out of [[Unstoppable Rage|pure fury]]}}.

* Shinn does this to Stella several times during ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]'', including a quasi-psychic one during the Destroy battle. {{spoiler|The last one fails. ''[[Tear Jerker|Miserably]]'' }}

* A variant occurs a couple of times in ''[[Junjou Romantica]]'': when Misaki can't stop crying, Usagi kisses him, and the shock is enough to calm Misaki down; in one of the "Junjou Minimum" flashbacks, we see that he learned this trick as a child and used it on Hiroki when he was having a meltdown due to self-induced stress.

* [[The White Prince|Canute]] calms [[The Berserker|Bjorn]] with strong words and a hug in ''[[Vinland Saga]]''. {{spoiler|This leads to tragedy when Atli of all people stabs Bjorn in the back.}}

* Hisoka Kurosaki gives this to his partner Asato Tsuzuki in ''[[Yami no Matsuei]]'' in order to {{spoiler|stop him from commiting suicide}}.

* Happens with Sena in ''[[Eyeshield 21]]''. {{spoiler|After beating the Bando Spiders, him and Suzuna bump into each other. Suzuna starts talking, but Sena just collapses in her arms, having exerted all his strength that game.}}

** There's a subversion, though. {{spoiler|Minoru ''did'' manage to calm Hakko down enough to keep her from shooting everyone else... but it was still not enough to bring her back from the [[Despair Event Horizon]], and soon afterwards the poor girl simply lets herself die in the collapsing labs, next to Santana's lifeless body.}}

* ''The [[Violinist of Hameln]]'': Flute gives these to Hamel on several occasions in the manga: The first time is just after {{spoiler|[[The Reveal]] of his demon horn, when he went berserk and was only stopped by Flute [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|running up and embracing him from behind.]]}} Later, Flute giving him these seems to be the only way to turn him back to normal when {{spoiler|Hamel's demon blood takes over, though the first time he actually put his fist through her chest before succumbing to the hug.}}

* In [[Bleach]], Orihime stops her Hollow-fied brother from further rampage with a hug and gentle words.

** Also, in the Bount [[Filler]] arc, Orihime frees Rukia from the influence of a Bount by [[Les Yay|hugging]].

** Road gives Allen a Cooldown Hug in chapter 192. Yes, the [[Older Than They Look|older-than-she-looks]], [[Kick the Dog|dog-kicking]] [[Creepy Child]]. Allen was ''[[Mind Rape|THAT]]'' out of it. And she was ''[[Even Evil Has Standards|that]]'' upset at the culprit.

* ''[[Pandora Hearts]]'': Alice does this to Oz in chapter 44.

* At the end of the ''[[Fruits Basket]]'' anime (and volume six of the manga) Tohru encounters {{spoiler|Kyo in his true form, clutches tightly to his arm and tells him that she is scared of how he looks now, but that she is still his friend and wants to be together with him. Kyo calms down and changes back to normal, explaining his mother always claimed to love him but was terrified of his true form and was always checking to make sure the beads were in place. He tells Tohru "You dont have to love everything" and then he hugs her, changing him back to his regular cat form}}.

** Kyo gives one to Tohru in volume nineteen when she's panicking about {{spoiler|being a terrible person for pretending to be as much like as her dead father as possible so her mother wouldn't leave (after being in shock after his death)}}.

* This happens early in the ''[[Chrno Crusade]]'' anime, in the form of a Cooldown Tackle, when {{spoiler|Chrno goes [[Berserk Button|berserk]] when he thinks Rosette has been injured, and starts to forcibly release the seal on his demonic powers.}}

* In [[Rave Master]], Elie hugged a crying Haru who is grieving for the lost of his father.

* Played straight in [[Eureka Seven]], with Renton hugging and comforting Eureka in episode 35 when she is in depression.

** [[Ho Yay|Shuusei also does one to Hotsuma]] in his backstory {{spoiler|when he tried to burn himself to death}}.

** Lloyd also hugs Colette to get her angel powers to shut off when they're going a little haywire.

* In [[Serial Experiments Lain]], <s>Alice</s> Arisu panics to the point of slapping Lain hard enough to draw blood while thrashing about. Arisu had her arm raised for a second blow when Lain finally manages to get her into a hug, and well... it doesn't exactly fix her, but she does calm down.

* In [[Samurai Deeper Kyo]], Akira does this to a girl whose power is to release deadly corrosive spores into the air (her first ever hug, obviously), it startled her enough to manage to stop the flow.

* {{spoiler|Inugami}} gives one to {{spoiler|Aoshika}} in [[Wolf Guy Wolfen Crest]]. {{spoiler|Coupled with an [[Anguished Declaration of Love]].}}

* Sheryl does this to Ranka in ''[[Macross Frontier]]'' when she gets depressed of Alto is with the former.

* Caesar to Nakaba in chapter 5 of ''[[Reimei no Arcana]]'' when she's freaking out over blood.

* ''[[Yami no Matsuei]]'': At one point, Tsuzuki tries to commit suicide again thanks to Muraki, and Hisoka hugs him and begs him to not do so.

 

== Fan Works ==

** A few scenes later there's another, in which Haruhi and Tsuruya [[Glomp]] Mikuru and Yuki, who are already hugging, forming a Cooldown [[Group Hug]].

** Used by Applejack and Rarity on Rainbow Dash after she nearly goes catatonic from [[Claustrophobia|not being able to see the sky during the blizzard]].

** The second by Shield Maiden on Rarity after [[Actual Pacifist|she freaks out at the prospect of having to kill something]].

 

 

== [[Film]] ==

* Sirius does this to a [[Wolf Man|transforming Remus]] in the movie version of ''[[Harry Potter|Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]''. It doesn't work.

* A drunken and remorseful {{spoiler|Loki}} tries this on his insane partner-in-crime {{spoiler|Bartleby}} at the climax of ''[[Dogma]]'' and gets a shiv in his kidney for his troubles.

** Also happens between {{spoiler|Bartleby and [[God]]}} right before {{spoiler|the latter blows him up with her voice.}}

* In ''[[Eastern Promises]]'', Nikolai manages a borderline example on Kirill, who is, at the time, having something of a mental breakdown. {{spoiler|Not least because he's been ordered to kill his infant half-sister.}} It's both a genuine cooldown attempt, as Nikolai seems to be the only one who can really deal with Kirill's mood swings, and {{spoiler|a move to get the duffel bag the baby's in away from him.}}

* In ''[[Tropic Thunder]]'', just when it seems like Kirk Lazarus and Alpa Chino are going to get into a brawl, Lazarus hugs Chino and recites the lyrics to the theme song of ''[[The Jeffersons]]''. Chino calls him on it, but the situation is still defused.

* San gets one of these from Ashitaka in ''[[Princess Mononoke]]''.

* Played straight and effectively in ''Mona Lisa Smile'' between Giselle (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and Betty (Kirsten Dunst).

* ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]''. This is essentially how {{spoiler|Xander "defeats" [[Big Bad]] Willow}} at the end of season six.

** Giles and Buffy share a mutual hug at the end of "Passions", with Giles weeping over {{spoiler|his dead lover Jenny Calender}}, and Buffy crying for him not to throw away his life in a [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]] as "I can't do this alone."

* Near the end arcs of ''[[Kamen Rider Kiva]]'', {{spoiler|Maya tries to calm down her son, Taiga, with one of these. This is one of the "hugger gets stabbed" subversions, though she doesn't die.}}

* In a first-season episode of ''[[Night Court]]'', Judge Harry does this to calm down an angry teen-age runaway played by Michael J. Fox.

 

 

* Extremely common among tag-team partners who are especially close, usually in consolation for losing a match (i.e. "it's okay, we'll get them next time" or "it's not your fault").

** Another variant is a hug of respect between opponents after a long, hard-fought match. Most recently, it's been seen between [[Shawn Michaels]] and [[The Undertaker]] at their [[Wrestlemania]] 26 [[Tear Jerker|"career vs. streak" match]].

 

 

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Nina does this to Ryu in ''[[Breath of Fire]] 4'' after Ryu goes berserk and messily slaughters some Empire soldiers, wrecking an abandoned town in the process.

* ''[[Tsukihime]]'', sort of. {{spoiler|Isn't It Sad, Sacchin?}}

* A beautiful version of this occurs in ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'', after Sora has {{spoiler|become a Heartless}} Kairi saves him from the darkness by hugging him and telling him to come back to her.

* The Wii version of ''[[A Boy and His Blob]]'' has a ''button'' for this.

** It's on the D-pad, actually.

* In ''[[Mass Effect 2]]'', [[Player Character|Shepard]] has the option of giving one of these to Tali after she {{spoiler|discovers her father's corpse}} during her loyalty mission.

** Shepard can also hug Liara in the DLC ''Lair of the Shadow Broker,'' after she's similarly overwhelmed by the resolution of a years-long revenge quest.

** Her social link has another instance as well, where the MC gets the option to give her a hug after beating up a bunch of thugs that were harassing her. {{spoiler|This one's a [[Subverted Trope|subversion]], though - she'll be ''pissed'' if you select the option to hug her, since she'll see it as being condescending.}}

 

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* And [http://www.captainsnes.com/2009/08/01/584-eyes-wide-open-to-the-world-now-new/ here] in ''[[Captain SNES]]''.

* ''[[Collar 6]]'': {{spoiler|Laura to Michelle.}}

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]'''s Maxwell Crowe does this to a suicidal Maria Graham after chucking the broken glass shard she was going to do herself in with. This not only functions as a cooldown hug, but also prevents her from just pulling on her [[Explosive Leash|explosive collar]] and killing herself that way.

 

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* Used in ''[[Futurama]]'', when Fry begins thinking he's a robot after [[Go Among Mad People|spending time in a robot asylum]], Leela tries to get him back to normal by hugging and kissing him. Doesn't work, though.

** She didn't try doing his laundry, though.

** Oddly, it's ''being stabbed'' that brings him back to normal. "Robots don't have blood!"

** Used by Fry when he eliminates Lrr from a high stakes poker tournament in ''Into The Wild Green Yonder.'' Luckily he read Lrr's mind to realize that all he needed was a hug.

** She does this several times, actually. She's basically the walking off switch to his [[Berserk Button]] (ironically, her endangerment is usually the berserk button itself).

*** Which makes sense, actually. Since she's usually the one in danger, her hugging Aang basically tells his subconscious that she's all right, unharmed enough to embrace him, and he doesn't need to go berserk anymore.

** The first time it happened was in the ''third'' episode of the whole series: "The Southern Air Temple." It can be considered foreshadowing that they would become a [[Canon]] Couple.

*** Though Katara didn't hug him out of the Avatar State in "The Southern Air Temple." She just talked him out of it, and then when he came back to his senses she hugged him.

 

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Peace Tropes]]

[[Category:Hug Tropes]]