Mood of Win (Sugar Wiki)

A subtrope of Gushing About Shows You Like. Just as we sometimes need to give praise to particularly engaging writing or characters we also need to express particular scenes that seem to be the pinnacle of their craft. This would be for a scene which isn't by any means an overtly awesome or epic moment, but it is a scene which does just what it needed to in order to have an epic scale impact on a viewer by pertaining its message effectively.

It's a scene, a song, an image, something that bring together all of the individual elements and tropes to create an ambience that impacts on the viewer and makes them remember it forever.

Anime & Manga

 * Cowboy Bebop - There are a ton of great ambience scenes in the show thanks to Yoko Kanno's absolutely amazing soundtrack, but one standout is the end of episode 5 with Green Bird playing during Spike's fall from the church.
 * Basilisk - In the near finale of the series.
 * Blame - Every time there is a two-page spread of one the ginormous areas of the Megastructure.
 * Gantz - The couple's death at the hands of 1000 armed goddess statue.
 * Code Geass: Whenever we get scenes panoramics of the striking scenery, especially to the sound of the track Eleven. The epilogue too.

Film

 * In Over the Hedge there is a brief scene of the animals having fun at birthday party, to the tune of Heist by Ben Folds. At one point RJ the Racoon plays air guitar with a Spuddies container. For some reason that one scene seems genuinely fun, and the awesome fun-ness of that very moment never fails to put a huge grin on my face.
 * In the film of Watchmen, at the very end we see New York being rebuilt after the Ozymandias attack on a clear sunny day, with epic music playing. The whole scene lasts, at most, about 15 seconds, but it's a Tear Jerker nonetheless.
 * The intro. The way the amazing visuals are combined with fantastic editing and the best usage of a country music in a movie ever makes up an immensely beautiful scene.
 * In Rumble Fish, at the very beginning, we see a sign saying The Motorcycle Boy Reigns as the clouds move at a hyper-fast speed through the sky and shadows stretch and bend across the sign. It's trippy-awesome.
 * Double Indemnity: When it is revealed that.
 * Fight Club - The twist, with the perfect timing of the monologue and the climatic scene before the twist. Also the "plane crash sequence" at the beginning.
 * The Lord of the Rings - Faramir's suicide charge intercut with Pippin singing to Denethor.
 * The intro of Coraline, which set up the Creepy Awesome atmosphere of the movie with shots of a metallic hand crafting a doll while one of the absolute best music track known to mankind plays on the background. But the whole movie counts, really. The way the script, cinematography, lighting, music, sounds, voice acting and editing work together to change the mood from sweet and funny to dark and chilling throughout the movie is just beautiful.
 * The scene where Coraline lists various stuff around the house. Thanks to the epic music and the creative way the scenes are shot. Keep in mind, all of it was done in stop-motion.
 * The part where she found the door for the first time. The editing, cinematography and colors add to the eerie feel. Then there's the Puppy Dog Eyes...
 * The first and second times Coraline enters the Otherworld, again thanks to the music. Mickey Mousing at its best.
 * The long crawl through the tunnel just before the "game". The anticipation for something that might jump out of the darkness, the lighting, the dialog, all work together to create a truly fantastic atmosphere.
 * The extraordinarily eerie atmosphere in Other Bobinsky's flat near the end.
 * Night sequences, period.
 * The build-up to the  battle in Serenity.

Literature
"And the cats of StarClan came stalking down the sky. Frost sparkled at their paws and glittered in their eyes. Their pelts were white flame. They carried the scent of ice and fire and the wild places of the night."
 * Harry Potter - The third book. When Harry grabs Sirius and roughs him up. Sirius's response is a calm but surprised "Are you going to kill me Harry?" whose bluntness in forcing the question onto the hero, really helps it pop out.
 * In the fifth book, the chapter "The Department of Mysteries". This chapter is not the battle, but the entrance into the Department. We are given so much to wonder at, it's like being taken into another magical world inside the magical world, in an atmosphere of awe and utter silence. Heart-chilling.
 * The Princess Bride - the Zoo of Death. "Let's look on the bright side: we're having an adventure, Fezzik, and most people live and die without being as lucky as we are." The entire scene is a brilliantly paced emotional rollercoaster, intercut with glimpses of just how awesome Inigo and Fezzik are and the bond between them; and each time you think it can't get any more awesome or more hair-raising, it does.
 * All of Firestar's nine lives ceremony in Warrior Cats, but especially these few lines:

Live Action TV

 * Dollhouse: "Epitaph One" is a brilliant piece of storytelling in general, but the last five minutes in particular, with the and  and that song? Just watch it.
 * Of all Criminal Minds episodes, "Open Season" is one of the most memorable ones to this troper, partly for a certain poignant scene right before the obligatory jet ride home - the intended victim of two brother unsubs gets ahold of a knife and repeatedly stabs one of them, and the other finds him and leaves him alone by a fire while he goes to finish her now for a reason besides the lulz. The fire draws the team, and Gideon crouches beside him trying to calm him down and gently interrogating him. Even when he realizes who he is and what's going on and most of the team has gone after his brother, Gideon stays with him while he dies (mind you he went from a Dead Rising-esque Axe Crazy to a pathetic kid who doesn't want his brother to leave him shortly after being jumped), comforting him, calling him "son" and repeating "It's okay..." It doesn't help that right before he finally dies he's officially broken down when he hears Morgan shooting his brother to death. You Are Not Alone, indeed, done bizarrely heartbreakingly and touchingly and just well all at once.

Video Games
"Hisao: If... if it only takes a moment for there to be love, I think I may be falling in love with her. Just a little bit."
 * Sunrises in both Oblivion and Fallout 3. It's an incredible moment when, after traveling through the night, the sky begins to gently glow from the east as the dawn begins to break. The entire world around you is quiet. And then the sun crests over the horizon, and any nearby water sparkles and shimmers. There's gentle swelling music in the background, and the world around you seems to burst forth with untapped possibilities.
 * "All Ghillied Up" in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
 * Also, "Death From Above". While most examples on this page are here for being extraordinarily joyful, sorrowful, exciting, eerie or atmospheric, the level is notable for inducing discomfort. Minutes ago you were just desperately fighting your way through the tactically superior enemy troops after your extraction chopper crashed. Then suddenly, you're in control of a Big Damn Gunship pointing and clicking at white specks on the ground. Mood Dissonance at its best.
 * "Just Like Old Times" in the sequel. It's just you and Price, sliding through the desert sands like ghosts, moving among the enemy soldiers, slicing throats, shooting heads, and drifting through dark tunnels. You're surrounded on all sides by a dangerously competent enemy force. You're outnumbered, outgunned, and on their turf. Around every corner is a chirping radio and a squad of balaclava-wearing hardasses who could kill you in seconds - and they have no idea you're there. There's very few scenarios that induce that many chills.
 * The final two intervals of the original First Encounter Assault Recon. The game throws at you all the Demonic Spiders Nightmare Fuel, and absolutely insane Mind Screw. You're running full speed at an objective beating down everything in your way, trying to prevent The End of the World as We Know It, and nothing, no matter how derranged, powerful, or numerous, can stop you.
 * The ending of FEAR Extraction Point was pretty epic as well. Just when you think you're all clear, and that you're getting a Gunship Rescue, Paxton comes in out of nowhere and throws every single Replica Soldier at you he can, and you kill them all alone. Then comes The Stinger Twist Endind with some of the most memorable and disturbing Arc Words ever uttered.
 * The intro to The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker. The part where the music fades with the hope of Hyrule...then that theme we all know and love kicks in.
 * Half-Life 2: Episode 2 - The tunnel fight against the Antlions. When all seems lost, the Vortigaunts show up...it's incredibly inspiring and completely does away with any frustration you felt from fighting bugs for the last ten minutes.
 * Monster Hunter Tri's intro music. Just take a listen.
 * Night of the third day, during the last six hours before the end of the world. The music, the constant earthquakes, and the massive moon. It's really freaky.
 * Katawa Shoujo. Shizune's end of Act 1. The protagonist Hisao is feeling melancholic and depressed after a scary reminder of his deadly heart condition. He's sitting with Shizune and Misha on the roof. Misha's fallen asleep, and so can't translate for Shizune (who's deaf-mute). Hisao begins talking to Shizune, even though he knows she can't understand her, but she still picks up on his mood. In place of speaking, Shizune just stands up and throws open her arms, indicating the entire beautiful scene: the night sky above, and the festival below. She's telling him not to let all this goodness be spoiled by a bad mood. That alone is enough to cheer him up, but then she pulls him to his feet and points up to the sky, just as the fireworks begin. That single scene speaks so much of the relationship between them, even though they can't talk to each other.

Western Animation

 * This.
 * This as well
 * The use of Pulp's "Like a Friend" in the season four finale of The Venture Brothers. Does a good job setting the fast pacing for Brock's race down the hill to get to the bunker in time, makes for an oddly sweet (albeit lyrically dissonant) track as the leads happily dance with their hooker-dates, and then creates a great bit of comedic Soundtrack Dissonance when the song continues as