View source for Sparkling Stream of Tears

{{trope}}
[[File:yarudora mayu tears 1060.png|link=Kisetsu o Dakishimete|frame]]

{{quote|"''What's this? Those sparkles... they're my tears.''"|'''Trowa Barton''', after destroying Duo Maxwell's Gundam Deathscythe, episode 20, ''[[Gundam Wing]]''}}

When a [[Men Don't Cry|girl]] (or, occasionally, a sufficiently [[Bishonen]] boy) has been upset and runs off while crying, the same mechanism responsible for [[Ocular Gushers]] ejects her tears with sufficient force that they become a visible trail in the air behind her, each one sparkling like a gem.

A [[Sub-Trope]] of [[Everything's Better with Sparkles]].

Compare [[Tender Tears]].

Contrast [[Inelegant Blubbering]], [[Single Tear]].

{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Played for laughs in ''[[Metal Fight Beyblade]]''. Tetsuya is locked up by [[Magnificent Bastard|Daidoji]] because he thinks that Tetsuya  {{spoiler|crushed Ginga's bey point counter}}, and he cries sparkling tears which he uses to draw a crab on the wall of his cell.
* ''[[Full Metal Panic!]]''
** Kaname Chidori in one of the later episodes. On seeing this, even [[Handsome Lech]] Kurz Weber is angry at the person responsible.
** Tessa in one of the biggest [[Tear Jerker]] scenes in ''The Second Raid'', though she's actually sitting still.
{{quote|'''Tessa''': "It would be some much easier on me if you just came right out and said it: 'I WANT TO BE WITH KANAME! SO STAY OUT OF THE WAY!'"}}
* Eve in the "Give Me Secret" music video sequence during the climax of part 2 of ''[[Megazone 23]]''.
* Mai in the [[media:mai gem tears.png|opening credits]] of ''[[My-HiME]]''.
* Hitomi from ''[[Vision of Escaflowne]]''.
* Alice from ''[[Please Save My Earth]]''.
* Another opening credits example: Mikuru in ''[[Suzumiya Haruhi]]''. At least she has a reason, given what she's subjected to by Haruhi.
* Meru does this in ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei]]'', after she was insulted on her [[Pettanko|small bust size]].
* ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'''s Ash does this occasionally when he releases a member of his team, and Dawn when she doesn't make it to the battle round of a Contest.
** Seen in episode 12, ''Here Comes the Squirtle Squad'', when Ash tries to get the Squirtle Squad to untie him so he can go to a nearby store to buy a Super Potion for his injured Pikachu.
*** Occurs rampantly in the first movie. If anything gets mention for sparkling streams of tears, the climax of that movie gets it. Not only are there a few '''dozen''' sparkling streams of tears, they are ''magical, moving'' sparkling streams of tears!
* In the ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' Toei anime, Yugi cries sparkly tears when Jonouchi reminds Yugi that he and the others are going through Kaiba's theme park of [[Death Trap]]s with him [[True Companions|because they're friends.]]
* In episode 12 of ''[[Mahoromatic]]'', Mahoro leaves a Sparkling Stream of Tears behind her as she flies Suguru home. Played straight, as Mahoro has just promised to stay with Suguru forever, but she hasn't told him that she will stop functioning in just under 300 days.
* Haruhi in ''[[Ouran High School Host Club]]'' gets one of these in one of her dreams.
* Rena in the opening of the second season of ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'' Kai.
** Also Satoko, to a point, in the first season's opening. {{spoiler|And tons of times within the actual show}}
** And Keiichi in the very first arc, combining this with [[Berserker Tears]].
* Ayeka in the final episode of ''[[Tenchi Universe]]''.
** In the OVA, Ryoko's double, Zero, sheds a few of these too right after {{spoiler|she fails to kill Tenchi.}}
* Trowa (after destroying Duo's Gundam Deathscythe) and Quatre (after destroying a colony with Wing Zero) in ''[[Gundam Wing]]''. Somewhat more plausible here, as they take place in zero-G.
** Relena does this in two instances: in episode 48, after [[Say My Name|crying out Heero's name]] after he takes off in Wing Zero to fight Zechs, and in the [[No Export for You|Japan-only]] OAV, ''Operation Meteor II: Odd Numbers'', as [https://web.archive.org/web/20130528074607/http://aboutgundamwing.com/SC/OM2Odd.htm shown here].
** Catherine demonstrates this in in episode 13 (the aptly-titled "Catherine's Tears"), after she punches Trowa in the face, preventing his self-destruction attempt. She does this again in episode 38, "The Birth of Queen Relena", when Quatre confronts her.
** Wufei does this  {{spoiler|after killing Treize}}.
* Not really tears (or even water, for that matter), but the Exia is shown with one of these in the opening sequence of ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]''.
* ''[[Sailor Moon]]''. For example at the end of season S after {{spoiler|triggering her emergency transformation to save Sailor Saturn}}.
* ''[[Bleach]]''
** Rukia gets one of these during a flashback in the Soul Society arc, when Renji pretends to be happy that she's being adopted by the Kuchiki clan. She thanks him for letting her go, and then...[[Everything's Better with Sparkles|*sparkle*]]
** Orihime has this as well:  {{spoiler|her tears sparkle as they fall while she's crying over the [[Dude, She's Like, in a Coma|unconscious Ichigo]] after her inability to kiss him}}.
** The Arrancar Dondochakka Bilstin does this whenever he's upset.
** Keigo Asano has been known to do this, such as in anime episode #229 when Ikkaku and Yumichika arrive to stay with him.
* Miaka of ''[[Fushigi Yuugi]]'' has a couple of these moments (though she has many more "realistic tears" moments).
* A rather unusual version of this is used in ''[[Spirited Away]]''. {{spoiler|Upon learing Haku's real name (the Kohaku River) Chihiro/Sen and Haku go into a freefall, both crying in happiness, leading to a beautiful, glittering, stream of tears......going ''upwards''.}}
* Lynn gets one in the first opening sequence to ''[[Fist of the North Star]]''.
* Polly/Pururun does this in the episode "The Big Comet Caper, Part 2" in ''[[Samurai Pizza Cats]]'', when Speedy/Yatarro takes off by himself to destroy the comet.
* Risa of ''[[Lovely Complex]]'' does this at one point.
* As of the fifth opening in ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]:Brotherhood'', Winry and Riza are shown doing this while set to the theme, ''Rain''.
* Variation: at one point in the opening of ''[[Heartcatch Pretty Cure]]'', Yuri displays a stream of tears going forward rather than behind her.
* Done hilariously in the ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]'' anime during one of the School Festival episodes. (The person running around in the cat suit was revealed to be {{spoiler|Mr. Kimura.}} Cue Sakaki turning dramatically, sparkling tears streaming from her ''eyes... and then [[Hilarity Ensues|running away at a ridiculous speed.]])
* Cue N's first appearance in the BW arc of ''[[Pokémon Special]]''. And he does it again during his battle with Black.
* Mew Lettuce (Lettuce Midorikawa) does this in at least one episode of ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]''.
* In ''[[Urusei Yatsura]]'', Lum does this when she catches Ataru in her arms and flies away with him.
* The characters of ''[[The Rows of Cherry Trees]]'' have ''very'' sparkly tears, to the point where they're more sparkle than tear.
* ''[[Ranma ½]]'':
** Akane gets this after she becomes disappointed and sad because of her failure at learning how to swim.
** Happens in one of Ranma's dreams. Ranma turns into a frog and Akane runs away with a sparkling stream of tears.
* ''[[The Idolmaster (anime)|THE iDOLM@STER]]'' - Kotori, whenever she gets out of one of her [[Imagine Spot]]s.
* [[The Hero]] Arrietty Clock in ''[[The Borrower Arrietty]]'' cries them near the end of the film. Since she's a [[Lilliputians|lilliputian]], rapidly moving down from a high area, we get a ''falling'' sparkling stream of tears.
* In the 2017 ''[[Little Witch Academia (2017 series)|Little Witch Academia]]'', the [[Teen Genius]] Diana Cavendish cries them after leaving the [[Wizarding School]] Luna Nova.

== [[Video Games]] ==
* Sakura and Rin in the second opening of ''[[Fate/stay night]]''.
* ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' example. If you fail to nurse Cid back to health and he dies, Celes cries a Sparkling Stream of Tears both when she realizes he's dead, and shortly after when she attempts to commit suicide by jumping from a high cliff into the ocean.
* This happens to Haruko in one of the last episodes of ''[[AIR]]'', during the dramatic scene at the beach when she runs towards Misuzu.
* For certain reason, in ''[[Super Robot Wars]] Z'', Sparkling Stream of Tears is involved when Setsuko Ohara finally receive her upgrade, as if those tears evolved her [[Humongous Mecha]].
* At the end of case 4 of ''[[Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney]]'' this happens when  {{spoiler|Maya Fey}} [[Put on a Bus|leaves]].
* A non-human one now: In ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'' after you defeat [[Killer Rabbit|The Fury]] in the [[Bonus Dungeon|Necrohol of Nabudis]], his death animation includes one of these.
* In the opening to ''Namco x Capcom'', Valkyrie is standing on a windswept cliff with tears welling in her eyes. When the wind picks up and she suddenly turns her head, the tears fly into the air, producing the glittering trail.
* Zelda in ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks|Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks]]'' does this after {{spoiler|[[Heroic Sacrifice|Byrne sacrifices himself]] to save her life.}}
* In ''[[Yarudora]] series vol.2: [[Kisetsu o Dakishimete]]'', main heroine Mayu does this while running towards, and tackling a drunken geezer, as{{spoiler|, as the (unbeknownst to her at that point of the storyline due to [[Identity Amnesia]]) [[Nature Spirit|Spirit of the Cherry Trees]],}} she feels  {{spoiler|the}} pain  {{spoiler|of the cherry tree}} when the geezer starts breaking and shaking cherry tree branches in a drunken fit of rage.

== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Fighter in ''[[8-Bit Theater]]'' gets one when {{spoiler|Black Mage}} [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2004/02/14/episode-384-rdmbst/ dies].
* Tedd in ''[[El Goonish Shive]]'' leaves a stream of tears while glowing and leaping to embrace Grace after learning about [http://www.egscomics.com/?date=2006-08-09 "...the sweetest, most twisted thing anyone's ever done for me..."]

== [[Web Original]] ==
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4MRo4QONQ4 Here's a rare example] of this happening in [[Real Life]].

== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Bubbles Utonium exhibits this behavior after a [[Traumatic Haircut]] in the [[Animesque|anime-influenced ''PowerpuffGirls''.]]
* The ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic]]'' episode [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic/Recap/S2/E10 Secret of My Excess|"Secret of My Excess"]] has Rarity displaying this as {{spoiler|she and Spike are falling}}.
* Parodied on ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' when Lisa makes [[Lady Gaga]] cry.
{{quote|'''Lisa:''' Are you crying glitter?
'''Lady Gaga:''' Tiny diamonds. Hurts like hell. }}

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Tear Tropes]]
[[Category:Sadness Tropes]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]