Life Energy: Difference between revisions

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Anyone whose life energy is especially [[Supernaturally Delicious and Nutritious]] is in for a hard time.

Not to be confused with [[Gradius|the NES space jet game of the same title]], or [[Lifeforce ~~(Film)~~|the 1985 sci-fi movie]].

Not to be confused with [[Gradius|the NES space jet game of the same title]], or [[Lifeforce|the 1985 sci-fi movie]].

See also [[Aura Vision]] and [[Anatomy of the Soul]]. If [[Life Energy]] is used to power a device, the thing powering it is a [[Living Battery]].

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== Anime & Manga ==

* Tien from [[~~Dragonball~~]] and Dragon Ball Z's signature technique uses his life energy, making it one of the most powerful techniques in the series.

* Tien from [[Dragon Ball]] and Dragon Ball Z's signature technique uses his life energy, making it one of the most powerful techniques in the series.

** Goku's ultimate technique, the Spirit Bomb, draws in small amounts of life energy from everything around it and unleashes it in a huge explosion.

* Goes by the name ''Power of Existence'' in ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]''. Losing any amount of it turns a human into a Torch at best, doomed to eventually [[Ret-Gone|have never existed]].

* First-season ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' villains, The Dark Kingdom stole life energy from humans in to free the [[Big Bad]] from her [[Sealed Evil in A Can|prison]], as did the mini-arc villains in the second season, Ail and En who feed it to the magic tree that kept them alive.

* First-season ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' villains, The Dark Kingdom stole life energy from humans in to free the [[Big Bad]] from her [[Sealed Evil in a Can|prison]], as did the mini-arc villains in the second season, Ail and En who feed it to the magic tree that kept them alive.

* ''[[Key the Metal Idol]]'' has a [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] engage in Life Energy harvesting far more effectively than the Dark Kingdom ever did. For example, random people at rock concerts, where it's expected for there to be fainters.

* ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'''s second season had the antagonists stealing magical power from mages (magical beasts when they could, though) in order to complete "the Book of Darkness." Fortunately, people can recover from that, and depending how young they are, their powers can also completely replenish.

* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'', the anime. {{spoiler|Sacrificed life energy is revealed to be the actual source of alchemic power, with a twist: it's not even people from Al and Ed's universe who are providing it.}}

** A different twist occurs in the manga. While alchemy largely draws on natural energy, such as plate tectonics, the greatest source of energy is {{spoiler|the Philosopher's Stones which are in fact [[Powered By a Forsaken Child|concentrated liquid souls]]. Ed soon realizes that if the soul of others can be used as energy, so can his own; since then he has shown the ability to transmute using his own soul to achieve normally impossible human transmutations}}.

** A different twist occurs in the manga. While alchemy largely draws on natural energy, such as plate tectonics, the greatest source of energy is {{spoiler|the Philosopher's Stones which are in fact [[Powered by a Forsaken Child|concentrated liquid souls]]. Ed soon realizes that if the soul of others can be used as energy, so can his own; since then he has shown the ability to transmute using his own soul to achieve normally impossible human transmutations}}.

* ''[[Bokurano]]''. The giant robot is powered by the Life Energy of the pilot. {{spoiler|Win or lose, the pilot dies after the battle -- it just isn't followed by the ''the entire universe dying'' in case of a win.}}

** The manga even hints that the younger the person, the more life energy he/she has, and the more powerful Zearth becomes.

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** Chiyo can also use life energy to heal, albeit with [[Equivalent Exchange]] involved. The first time, she transfers her life energy to heal a mortally wounded Sakura, saving Sakura but bringing herself to the brink of death. The second time, {{spoiler|she brings Gaara back to life but dies in the process.}}.

* ''[[Bleach]]'' features vampire-like creatures called Bount, which drain the lifeforce out of their victims as opposed to blood.

* ''[[Pokémon (~~Anime~~)|Pokémon]]'' features Aura (described by Mei Ling as "life force") which is normaly used by Lucario's and, to a lesser extent, Riolu's (oh, and there's the occasional human with Aura abilities). Needless to say, an awful lot of cool powers come with it. How about unlimited vision when you've got your eyes closed, so you'll technically never go blind? Or a cool ball of energy that you can summon out of nowhere?

* ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' features Aura (described by Mei Ling as "life force") which is normaly used by Lucario's and, to a lesser extent, Riolu's (oh, and there's the occasional human with Aura abilities). Needless to say, an awful lot of cool powers come with it. How about unlimited vision when you've got your eyes closed, so you'll technically never go blind? Or a cool ball of energy that you can summon out of nowhere?

* Life Energy is a major theme in many ''[[Gundam]]'' works. Various Gundams in later UC stories have Gundams powered by various bits of [[Magitek]] in all but name that run on their pilot's life energy. Used much more blatantly in the less serious ''[[G Gundam]]''. ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' uses it less, but it does feature killer robots who can sense the life energy of their targets, even through metal, [[Infrared X Ray Camera]]-style.

* The plot of ''[[~~Prétear (Manga)|~~Prétear]]'' pretty much revolves around Life Energy (Leafe). In the manga version, this gets downright cruel: the Knights can only use their [[Elemental Powers]] at the expense of their own Leafe; as a result, whenever Himeno is performing attacks as the Pretear, she drains the Life Energy from whichever Knight she is currently merged with. The Pretear can also ''create'' Leafe, though. Needless to say, the [[Monster of the Week|monsters]] and the [[Big Bad]] of the series really like ''stealing'' Leafe...

* The plot of ''[[Prétear]]'' pretty much revolves around Life Energy (Leafe). In the manga version, this gets downright cruel: the Knights can only use their [[Elemental Powers]] at the expense of their own Leafe; as a result, whenever Himeno is performing attacks as the Pretear, she drains the Life Energy from whichever Knight she is currently merged with. The Pretear can also ''create'' Leafe, though. Needless to say, the [[Monster of the Week|monsters]] and the [[Big Bad]] of the series really like ''stealing'' Leafe...

* In ''[[Saint Seiya]]'', the key to the Saints' power is their cosmos. Whoever can burn his cosmo to the higher level wins, no matter how injured or weakened they are.

* In [[Katekyo Hitman Reborn]] there's Dying Will, which started out as just something that tapped into your hidden potential to keep you from dying without fulfilling some desire. Later on though, it became the basis for all forms of attack and even has [[Color Coded for Your Convenience|seven differently colored]] types with various powers and appearances, and is accessed through your personal resolution. They have a sky theme (Sky, Sun, Storm, etc).

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== Fan Works ==

* Paul in ''[[~~With Strings Attached (Fanfic)|~~With Strings Attached]]'' has so much of this that when two wraiths feed on his life energy, ''they explode from overeating''.

* Paul in ''[[With Strings Attached]]'' has so much of this that when two wraiths feed on his life energy, ''they explode from overeating''.

== Films -- Live Action ==

* ''[[~~Lifeforce (Film)|~~Lifeforce]]'', the naked space vampire movie, is all about Life Energy vampirism. [[Ms. Fanservice|And boobies.]]

* ''[[Lifeforce]]'', the naked space vampire movie, is all about Life Energy vampirism. [[Ms. Fanservice|And boobies.]]

== Literature ==

* [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s ''[[Heralds of Valdemar]]'' series uses a fairly [[Magic A Is Magic A|well-developed magic system]] that is based almost entirely around this concept. All living beings generate Life Energy, which drains away from them [[Background Magic Field|into the ambient environment]], eventually collecting into [[Ley Line|Ley Lines]]. Where two or more Ley Lines meet, you have a [[Place of Power|Node]], which is a massively powerful energy source that only [[Power Levels|Adepts]] can hope to use without burning themselves out. The ultimate destination of this energy is the nether plane, from which it then reenters the world through living beings. Mages are people who have the innate capability to store additional magical energy within themselves, see this energy, and instinctively manipulate it. It's also possible to manipulate it without mage talent via rituals or [[Blood Magic]]. A person wholly drained of life energy, whether from [[Blood Magic]] or [[Cast From Hit Points|spellcasting beyond their capacity]], will lapse into a coma and die. Accordingly, it can also be used to [[Liquid Assets|heal people]], although this is most efficiently performed by those with the [[Healing Hands|specific talent]] for it.

* [[Mercedes Lackey]]'s ''[[Heralds of Valdemar]]'' series uses a fairly [[Magic a Is Magic A|well-developed magic system]] that is based almost entirely around this concept. All living beings generate Life Energy, which drains away from them [[Background Magic Field|into the ambient environment]], eventually collecting into [[Ley Line|Ley Lines]]. Where two or more Ley Lines meet, you have a [[Place of Power|Node]], which is a massively powerful energy source that only [[Power Levels|Adepts]] can hope to use without burning themselves out. The ultimate destination of this energy is the nether plane, from which it then reenters the world through living beings. Mages are people who have the innate capability to store additional magical energy within themselves, see this energy, and instinctively manipulate it. It's also possible to manipulate it without mage talent via rituals or [[Blood Magic]]. A person wholly drained of life energy, whether from [[Blood Magic]] or [[Cast From Hit Points|spellcasting beyond their capacity]], will lapse into a coma and die. Accordingly, it can also be used to [[Liquid Assets|heal people]], although this is most efficiently performed by those with the [[Healing Hands|specific talent]] for it.

** Lackey's ''Children of the Night'' has '[[Our Vampires Are Different|psi-vamps]]' who drain energy from others. In this case the energy is [[Emotion Eater|tied to emotions]] -- they drain excitement at first, and later hate and fear. Also, a completely drained victim is usually not physically dead, but is [[The Stoic|emotionally/mentally burned out]] (described as a mindless hulk, with no chance of recovery).

* The ''[[Night Watch]]'' series of novels has the "Others", a group of superpowered and supernatural humans forced to choose between good and evil when they first gain knowledge of their gift, can get energy from taking the emotions of normal humans and store it for later use. Some are actual vampires, and do need blood in addition to any life energy they get, albeit not necessarily human blood. {{spoiler|The good Others take happiness and joy, leaving those they take power from depressed and likely to kill themselves, while the evil Others take fear and depression away, leaving their victims happier and feeling more capable of dealing with problems. Although when it's not a simple one time feeding they establish a cycle where the Others create the emotions they feed off in their actions. So a famous Pioneer Camp is used as a rest resort, the Light feed during the days while helping the kids have fun, while the dark ones feed of the same kids fears at night.}}

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** In Bujold's ''[[The Sharing Knife]]'' books, Lakewalkers' magic is all about the manipulation of Life Energy.

* In the ''Dark Visions'' series by L. J. Smith, {{spoiler|Gabriel is a "psychic vampire", which makes him dependent on other people's life energy to survive.}}

* In [[HP Lovecraft]]'s short story "The Colour Out of Space", the title monster feeds on the life energy of creatures that live near to where it lairs.

* In [[H.P. Lovecraft]]'s short story "The Colour Out of Space", the title monster feeds on the life energy of creatures that live near to where it lairs.

* In ''The Dresden Files'', human beings (and other living things) have a magical essence that is necessary to sustain life, but can be fed on by White Court Vampires and some other things, and which a Wizard (or presumably even a mundane, even he somehow had the necessary skills) can tap into to power a 'Death Curse', a spell of exceptional power that can be used to spectacular things...at the cost of one's life because the energy is all used up.

** Also, in a later book, there is Soulfire. Makes your magic extremely powerful, by literally burning up your soul. {{spoiler|Good thing souls regenerate}}

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== Live Action TV ==

* In the [[Korean Drama]] ''[[My Girlfriend Is a Nine Tailed Fox]]'' the titular multi-tailed fox (who has taken form as a beautiful human woman) gives a mortally injured man an "energy bead" to keep him alive.

* ''[[~~Babylon Five|~~Babylon 5]]'' has Captain Sheridan die but then get resurrected with an infusion of life energy. He was told, however, that regardless of medical procedures, his body would just "stop" after a period of time. Another plot involved an alien artifact that transferred life energy (it was used for capital punishment {{spoiler|and occasionally for medical purposes too}}).

* ''[[Babylon 5]]'' has Captain Sheridan die but then get resurrected with an infusion of life energy. He was told, however, that regardless of medical procedures, his body would just "stop" after a period of time. Another plot involved an alien artifact that transferred life energy (it was used for capital punishment {{spoiler|and occasionally for medical purposes too}}).

* In ''[[Doctor Who]],'' the Fendahl consumed the full spectrum of Life Energy, causing rapid decay of the corpses it left.

** Also, "Forest of the Dead" subverts the usual rule about the [[Everything Sensor]] in regards to life forms: once the Doctor specifies that he's not interested only in ''humanoid'' life signs, the Library sensors report on ''every one of the billions of Vashda Narada spores''.

** When the Master [[Came Back Wrong|comes back wrong]] in "The End Of Time", the Doctor tries to warn him that his [[Superpower Lottery|awesome new powers]] are consuming his Life Energy.

* Emotions get drained in ''[[~~Red Dwarf (TV)|~~Red Dwarf]]'', too. A polymorph snacks on the most powerful emotion from four distinct characters. Never explored what would happen if multiple emotions got drained from the same character, but when you strip away the hero's sense of fear, you get suggestions like: "Why don't we take a nuke and strap it to my head -- I'll head-butt the monster into oblivion!"

* Emotions get drained in ''[[Red Dwarf]]'', too. A polymorph snacks on the most powerful emotion from four distinct characters. Never explored what would happen if multiple emotions got drained from the same character, but when you strip away the hero's sense of fear, you get suggestions like: "Why don't we take a nuke and strap it to my head -- I'll head-butt the monster into oblivion!"

* The Wraith in ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' are essentially [[Our Vampires Are Different|Life Energy Vampires]]. There are, however, some [[Techno Babble]] attempts to explain it as hard science, essentially implying the exact process is badly understood, and that speaking of "Life Force" is a handy though incorrect shortcut. The overall effect of Wraith "feeding", which is done through a special organ in their palm, is similar to [[Rapid Aging]]. They can also give back some of the stolen Life Energy, rejuvenating the subject or even bringing him back to life.

* The Lifeforce Megazord from ''[[Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue]]'', which uses the rangers' energy.

* ''[[Kamen Rider Kiva]]'' features Fangires, a stained glass-based [[Our Vampires Are Different|vampire]] race that materializes crystal fangs in midair, sticks them into their human targets' neck, and drains the life energy out of their bodies for food, leaving the victim as a glass corpse that can be shattered with a single touch. (The words Life Energy are [[Gratuitous English|always in English]] for [[Rule of Cool|some reason]].)

* In ''[[Tin Man (TV)|Tin Man]]'' {{spoiler|the Witch possessing}} Azkedellia kills at least two people with this ability and {{spoiler|murders DG as a child}} While she got better, {{spoiler|their mother had to give up most of her magic to do it, leaving her powerless later to defeat the Witch.}}

* In ''[[Tin Man (TV series)|Tin Man]]'' {{spoiler|the Witch possessing}} Azkedellia kills at least two people with this ability and {{spoiler|murders DG as a child}} While she got better, {{spoiler|their mother had to give up most of her magic to do it, leaving her powerless later to defeat the Witch.}}

* The Dark Kingdom in ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'' stole energy from people in various ways, just as their animated counterparts did.

* ''Tracker'' used this heavily. Each fugitive was in the form of a life force that took over a human body and killed the original occupant. Cole sucked out the life force into his collector when he caught up with them. Apparently, they were drained of life force when they were put in prison, and the life force was slowly returned as the sentence was served.

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** ''[[Spelljammer]]'' also included lifejammers -- a spelljamming helm was a chair which allowed one to pilot a vessel into space by draining spell energy; a lifejamming helm ... well, you can figure it out from there. Lifejammers were particularly popular among evil beings such as neogi and undead, who were fond of subjecting their slaves and captives to this.

* ''[[GURPS]] Aliens''. The Gloworms feed on [[Life Energy]] by touching other living creatures. They can feed on animals but prefer sentient victims.

* ''[[Call of Cthulhu]]''. The Colour Out of Space monster feeds on [[Life Energy]], just like the original version in the [[HP Lovecraft]] story.

* ''[[Call of Cthulhu]]''. The Colour Out of Space monster feeds on [[Life Energy]], just like the original version in the [[H.P. Lovecraft]] story.

== Video Games ==

* Mana from ''[[~~Tales of Symphonia (Video Game)|~~Tales of Symphonia]]''. When the world decays, a Chosen sets out to restore Mana, {{spoiler|and takes it away from the parallel world, causing them to spit out a Chosen to tilt it back again.}}

* Mana from ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]''. When the world decays, a Chosen sets out to restore Mana, {{spoiler|and takes it away from the parallel world, causing them to spit out a Chosen to tilt it back again.}}

* Prevalent in Nasu Kinoko's works (the [[Nasuverse]]).

** ''[[Tsukihime]]'': {{[spoiler| Akiha's}} ability ("Plunder") is taking the life energy (and heat, apparently -- there may not be much of a difference) of others through [[Prehensile Hair]] that moves at the speed of thought, hits like a sucker punch or a spear, holds like a python, and is invisible even to her own eyes. Fortunately, the drain itself doesn't start or finish instantly.

** ''[[~~Fate Stay Night|~~Fate/stay night]]'': the Mages (Masters) and their Servants have the ability to manipulate the life energy of others (mana) both willingly and [[Black Magic|unwillingly]].

** ''[[Fate/stay night]]'': the Mages (Masters) and their Servants have the ability to manipulate the life energy of others (mana) both willingly and [[Black Magic|unwillingly]].

* The title creatures from ''[[Metroid]]'' drain the life energy from any animal unfortunate enough to encounter it. The [[Space Pirates]] tried to use science to explain the phenomena, but could find absolutely no trace of this "life energy", only the proof that it undeniably was occuring.

** However, Samus's suit is able to see and absorb the life energy of defeated enemies for use as shielding or ammunition, likely due to both the suit and Metroids being created by the Chozo.

* ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' series commonly refers to Link's HP as "life energy." Whether or not this is a link to a spiritual force really hasn't been said, except if you maybe count ''Phantom Hourglass''.

** In ''[[Minish Cap]]'', the [[MacGuffin|Light Force]] was directly tied to Princess Zelda's Life Energy. Draining away the Life Force from her body can kill her, which leads to a [[Scrappy Level|timed section]] near the end of the game.

* The Chromotap device in ''[[~~Syndicate (Video Game)|~~Syndicate]] Wars'' draws Life Energy from the recently dead to heal your agents (who probably killed them.)

* The Chromotap device in ''[[Syndicate]] Wars'' draws Life Energy from the recently dead to heal your agents (who probably killed them.)

* One character in the ''[[Chzo Mythos]]'' is able to draw out the life energy of others by using a sacrificial knife.

* Raziel from the ''[[Legacy of Kain]]'' series typically feeds on the souls of the slain, but he can also snack on friendly humans. If he only drains a little, they'll get tired but eventually recover. Too much and they'll die, and then the other humans stop being so friendly.

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== Web Original ==

* Tied into ley lines (as used by mutants like Fey) and also Ki (as used by mutants like Chaka) in the ''[[Whateley Universe]]''.

* In ''[[~~Elcenia (Literature)|~~Elcenia]]'', this is the fuel used for [[Magic A Is Magic A|kamai]]. Kyma can refuel with food and sleep, pretty similarly to if they had physically overexerted themselves, and they can also sense life energy.

* In ''[[Elcenia]]'', this is the fuel used for [[Magic a Is Magic A|kamai]]. Kyma can refuel with food and sleep, pretty similarly to if they had physically overexerted themselves, and they can also sense life energy.

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* [[Our Vampires Are Different|Tristram's]] power in ''[[Earthsong]]'' is the draining and replacement (thereby, healing) of Life Energy.

* In ''[[Thunderstruck]]'', it is explained that vampires don't feed on blood per se, but on the Life Energy it carries.

* Medicine in ''[[~~Girl Genius (Webcomic)|~~Girl Genius]]'' seems to rely on "Galvanic energy," which is usually fed through big machines, or from the waters of the [[Meaningful Name|Dyne]].

* Medicine in ''[[Girl Genius]]'' seems to rely on "Galvanic energy," which is usually fed through big machines, or from the waters of the [[Meaningful Name|Dyne]].

== Western Animation ==

* In ''[[~~Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers (Animation)|~~Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers]]'', the Queen uses Life Energy to create psychocrystals, which power Slaverlords, wraith-like beings she can see, hear, and speak through. [[Humans Are Special]] in a BAD way in this universe, as they are the best species she's found to power the things. Fortunately, she only was able to make two human crystals in the entire course of the series, and only able to hold onto one. Unfortunately, that one crystal happens to be made from Zach's wife.

* In ''[[Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers]]'', the Queen uses Life Energy to create psychocrystals, which power Slaverlords, wraith-like beings she can see, hear, and speak through. [[Humans Are Special]] in a BAD way in this universe, as they are the best species she's found to power the things. Fortunately, she only was able to make two human crystals in the entire course of the series, and only able to hold onto one. Unfortunately, that one crystal happens to be made from Zach's wife.

* In ''[[~~Wakfu (Animation)|~~Wakfu]]'', the Life Energy is called... [[Title Drop|wakfu]]. It is the power source of all magic, and present in every living being, plants like animals. Nox, the [[Big Bad]] of the first season, aims at draining as much wakfu as possible, to next feed it to the Eliacube, an [[Amplifier Artifact]] that can boost his powers beyond those of any time-magic user before, or even beyond those of his god, Xelor.

* In ''[[Wakfu]]'', the Life Energy is called... [[Title Drop|wakfu]]. It is the power source of all magic, and present in every living being, plants like animals. Nox, the [[Big Bad]] of the first season, aims at draining as much wakfu as possible, to next feed it to the Eliacube, an [[Amplifier Artifact]] that can boost his powers beyond those of any time-magic user before, or even beyond those of his god, Xelor.

* The Parasite in ''[[Superman ~~the~~ Animated Series]]'' is basically a male villainous [[Expy]] of [[X Men|Rogue]]. Humans usually wind up unconscious and twitching a little. He can also gain access to their memories, and [[Voices Are Mental|sound like them]]. When he does it to [[Super Empowering|Superman, however...]]

* The Parasite in ''[[Superman: The Animated Series]]'' is basically a male villainous [[Expy]] of [[X-Men|Rogue]]. Humans usually wind up unconscious and twitching a little. He can also gain access to their memories, and [[Voices Are Mental|sound like them]]. When he does it to [[Super Empowering|Superman, however...]]

** The Parasite is hardly an expy of Rogue, as he is far the older character; he was around in the 60s.

* ''[[Star Trek ~~the~~ Animated Series]]'' episode "The Lorelei Signal". The females of the second planet in the Taurean system can only survive by draining the life energy of male humanoids, which causes the males to age and die.

* ''[[Star Trek: The Animated Series]]'' episode "The Lorelei Signal". The females of the second planet in the Taurean system can only survive by draining the life energy of male humanoids, which causes the males to age and die.