Thundering Herd



When a sufficiently large group of characters or extras in a comedy Anime or Animated Series are pursuing someone angrily, they appear as a Thundering Herd covered in a noisy budget-saving cloud of dust, optionally with torsos, heads, and arms sticking out. An alternate presentation, popular in anime and manga, presents a five-story-tall cloud of people chasing the protagonist. Sufficiently wound up single characters can also appear as a one-person Thundering Herd when pursuing or fleeing in panic.

Members of a Harem or Love Dodecahedron sometimes chase the object(s) of their romantic desire down the street in a Thundering Herd.

The Thundering Herd is generally accompanied by loud sound effects (rumbling, crashing, shouting, the cries of bystanders), and frequently by the Star Trek Shake. Sometimes it is visible only as a cloud of dust (or distinct geysers of dust) behind other scenery.

A Sub-Trope of Everyone Chasing You.

Compare Wheel-O-Feet, Big Ball of Violence.

Anime and Manga

 * Ranma 1/2, too many times to count. One such chase scene takes form under the opening credits for the first Ranma movie (called Big Trouble in Nekonron, China in North America) and lasts five minutes or more of screen time; it starts with a single person chasing Ranma, and slowly builds up until it seems that the entire city of Tokyo is on his heels. The Herd is also rife with cameos from the television series and manga.
 * Hanaukyo Maid Tai
 * Episode 1 introduces the male lead to his new staff as they charge in a cloud of squeals, aprons, and barely repressed Shotacon.
 * In episode 12 all of the maids charge Taro to give him birthday presents.
 * In La Verite episode 1 the maids charge Taro en masse in the (giant) bath room, while they and he are naked.
 * Urusei Yatsura throws these in so regularly that you can almost set your watch by them -- not that this helps the poor Yuppie Couple that invariably get run over by the mob.
 * Azumanga Daioh: Tomo, being the Genki Girl on a continuous amphetamine high, is capable of creating a one-girl Thundering Herd.
 * Sana from Kodomo no Omocha is also energetic enough to make one of these all by herself.
 * Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl, episode 2.
 * Best Student Council
 * Sailor Moon sometimes flees as a single-person Thundering Herd.
 * More serious example: the Ohmu from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.
 * In UFO Princess Valkyrie, the mob of catgirl maids form a Thundering Herd when they go looking for Waru-chan. When they don't find her, Sanada makes one all by herself.
 * Nagasarete Ariantou has one in the opening.
 * What happens to the four Bishounen in The Wallflower, but mostly to Kyouhei.
 * In the early parts of Mahou Sensei Negima, main lead Negi occasionally has to outrun his Wacky Homeroom whenever some rumour about his (essentially non-existent) love-life comes up.

Comic Books

 * Gauls attacking the Romans in Asterix, specially in the movies.
 * In one Marvel Comics "What If" stories (in an issue that was spoofing the normal "Serious Business" nature of most "What If" stories), "What if Everyone Who Ever Was an Avenger Stayed an Avenger", the entire hundred-plus man superteam responds to a convenience store robbery... and exit Avengers Mansion in a Thundering Herd.

Web Comics

 * Happens several times in Freefall.

Western Animation

 * Ur-example: the Roadrunner from Looney Tunes.
 * Another serious example occurs in The Lion King with the wildebeest stampede. In fact, many viewers saw it as Nightmare Fuel.
 * On Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Cheese was understandably freaked out when seeing a horde of imaginary friends of all shapes and sizes bearing down on him.