Meditation Powerup



Lots of Hot-Blooded heroes like to power up by doing something violent. Whether it's Punctuated Emphasis while yelling their In the Name of the Moon speech, tearing off a Power Limiter, shouting as they charge up a Ki Attacks, flexing as they invoke the Dangerous Forbidden Technique, or even bleeding. Not this guy though; he expresses his enhanced combat ability by entering the Lotus Position.

Rather than express violence with violence, he pauses mid battle (or pre-battle) and meditates. It doesn't have to be a twenty minute session, usually all he needs is five seconds, closed eyes, even breathing, mentioning a Survival Mantra or Koan to enter a state of near perfect calm (or murderous Tranquil Fury), and then the bad people fall down.

In video, this usually comes accompanied with a sudden hush of whatever ambient sounds there might be (whether cheering crowds or noisy explosions). You can bet their opponent will be really confused and probably insulted worse than if their honor had been Trash Talked. Cue a "surprise attack" at this obviously helpless target which will result in a blocked or even reflected attack.

This is usually used by those with Enlightenment Superpowers like the Warrior Monk, Kung Fu Wizard, and many Psychics. In Video Games, this may manifest as a form of Charged Attack which is also invulnerable.

Anime and Manga

 * Virgo Shaka of Saint Seiya is basically the king of this trope. Even his peers among the Gold Saints dread having to fight him for fear of him stopping his meditation to open his eyes. In the Hades arc, he fights three resurrected Gold Saints at the same time
 * In the Poseidon Saga, and after his invincible Golden Spear is destroyed, Chrysaor Krishna also assumes a meditating position to draw energy from the Kundalini. The point is driven even further when his Chakras manifest and Shiryu must destroy them with Excalibur in order to defeat Krishna.
 * The serene state of mind in G Gundam works exactly like this.
 * The titular character of Naruto can pull this after learning senjutsu; however, he doesn't have any way to defend himself during the meditation so its uses are limited.
 * Possibly Toriko himself. He stated once that every time he places his hands together in prayer for the meal he's about to receive (ie. whatever animal is going to be eaten and killed by him), he's imagining the winning blows.
 * Played absolutely straight with Ken in the Street Fighter II movie. Having (just barely) shaken off Bison's Psycho Power control, Ken finds himself broken and battered and unable to help Ryu defeat the monstrous dictator. After a few desperate attempts to get on his feet, he recalls a meditation technique from his master and stands in a perfect, serene guarding pose. The background fades to black and all sounds but his chanting stop while his spirit flickers in small blue flames around his body. After a few minutes, he opens his eyes, having regained his calm, his center, and his strength to go and save his friend.
 * Byakuya Kuchiki of Bleach is a good example as well. Most characters have a bright flash of energy surrounding a Zanpakutou's release, shouting the name of their release as they do so. Byakuya defies this for his Shikai by almost whispering his release command as the blade unassumingly disintegrates. His Bankai is a perfect example, as the whole room tends to go quiet, save for a soft harmonic hum, when his sword pierces the ground, and there's no gigantic explosion like nearly every other Bankai in the series.
 * When Worst Buddhist Priest Ever Genjyo Sanzo from Saiyuki stops cursing and shooting at you and starts chanting and glowing like he really is an emissary of the gods? Your ass is about to get kicked seven ways to Sunday by a dusty old scroll.

Film

 * Bagger in The Legend of Bagger Vance is able to induce one of these in Junuh (making every spectator seemingly disappear) by talking about the beauty of golf and onness with nature over a Whoopi Epiphany Speech.
 * In Star Wars The Phantom Menace Qui-Gon Jinn took this route during a break in the fight against Darth Maul on Naboo. When those energy-shields-whose-purpose-is-never-clearly-defined come up, Maul paces and glares, Obi-Wan looks anxious, but Qui-Gon drops to his knees and closes his eyes. When the shields go down, he's back on his feet in a second.

Webcomics

 * In John Allison's Scary Go Round side-strip Giant Days, Esther's new friend Daisy flops down into Lotus position (sort of) during a fight and then unleashes the awesome power of Yogic Flying. George Harrison does not approve.


 * In Laser Feet's 5th comic, one man meditates in order to gain the power to fly using his eyebrows.

Western Animation

 * This is how Aang in Avatar: The Last Airbender is supposed to activate the Avatar State. The first time he does this, . The second time he does this.

Video Games

 * Halfway through the battle against Elyon in Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, he "begins meditating", with a very large targetting circle locked onto one party member. After three turns, lightning strikes that character and anything nearby, inflicting quadruple-digit damage.
 * In the Pokémon games, Mewtwo is said to spend its time meditating to increase its mental powers.
 * The "Meditate" attack, which raises the user's Attack by one stage.
 * The "Calm Mind" technique, which does the same, for one stage each, for the user's Special Attack and Special Defense.
 * In Guild Wars: Factions, final boss has the attack "Meditation of the Reaper". He goes into a meditative state and nullifies the next 500 damage he takes while in that state. He stays in the stance for 30 seconds, or until he's taken that 500 damage, whichever is shorter. You do not want him to spend the full 30 seconds in meditation, because as soon as the stance ends, he steals 20 health from each party member for each second he was in the stance. For those of you playing at home, that's 600 damage to everyone in the party if he stays in it for 30 seconds.
 * In The Sims 2, meditating sims can teleport.