"Once the sun goes down, so shall one man."
Pitching a climactic duel between two or more characters during, especially in front of, a sunset enables the creator to enhance the tension inherent in said duel both visually and narrative-wise. On one hand, the setting sun not only casts the fighters in shadow, further highlighting their forms, but the sunset colors also create a vibrant background that is otherwise rarely seen in nature. On the other hand, a setting sun, corresponding with an ending day, can represent many things, such as the death of a combatant or the End of an Era.
The timing of the sunset can also vary across media. While some fights may take place only during the sunset, others can start in the daytime and end at sunset, or alternatively start at sunset and last into the night.
Contrast Showdown at High Noon, for duels that take place in the middle of the day. Also contrast Cue the Sun, for when the Sun rises before or during an important event. Extremely popular in Jidaigeki media, as a setting for Single-Stroke Battles between Ninjas and/or Samurai, while a baleful bamboo flute plays in the background.
A Sub-Trope of Fight Scene and 24-Hour Trope Clock.
Examples:
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Anime & Manga
- Black Clover: By the time Asta and Yami finally manage to defeat Dante, the sun begins to set. Zenon picks that exact moment to teleport in, capture Yami, pick up Dante and leave.
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: The battle between Shinji, Asuka, and Rei against the Angel-possessed Unit-03 in Episode 18 takes place against the setting sun.
- Yu-Gi-Oh!:
- The anime exclusive card One-on-One Fight
from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX (played by Dox in the first season) has its artwork depict a sword duel that takes place during a sunset, their bodies covered in shadow against an orange background.
- Yu-Gi-Oh! ZEXAL:
- An invoked example in Episode 59, where the duel between Yuma and Gauche/Nistro during the quarter finals takes place on an anime-exclusive field spell card, Sunset Showdown, which gives this effect, making their battlefield a sun-drenched canyon.
- The final duel of the third season of ZEXAL between Yuma and his rival Kaito/Kite takes place at sunset, which is used to highlight how the two duelists have changed since their first encounter with each other.
- An invoked example in Episode 59, where the duel between Yuma and Gauche/Nistro during the quarter finals takes place on an anime-exclusive field spell card, Sunset Showdown
- The anime exclusive card One-on-One Fight
Fan Works
- Neon Genesis Evangelion That Which Could Not Happen: The battle between the Evas and the sentient dimensional void Leliel takes place at sunset and extends over the night.
Film — Live-Action
- The Force Awakens: Exaggerated. Because Starkiller Base literally consumes suns to power it, The Resistance fights to stop Starkiller Base from destroying their base of operations in the light of a dying sun, resembling a sunset. As Poe states, "As long as there is light, we've got a chance."
- Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S.: The battle between Godzilla and Mothra takes place against the setting sun. Unlike most examples of this trope, the fight extends into the night as Mechagodzilla and Mothra's larvae enter the duel, and eventually lasts into the following sunrise.
Literature
- Overlord (2012): Gazef's battle against the Slane Theocracy's Sunlight Scripture begins in the evening. By the time Ainz switches places with Gazef, the sun has already begun to set. The ensuing Curb-Stomp Battle reaches its end by dusk, right as Ainz obliterates Dominion Authority with Black Hole. Only then does Nigun realize how hopelessly fucked he is.
Live-Action TV
- Choushinsei Flashman: The final battle between Jin/Red Flash and Sir. Kauler is against the sunset by the beach side.
Kauler: "Blood dripping in the setting sun is beautiful."
- Ultra Series: The franchise is full of many sunset battles that listing them all would triple the page length. A few noteworthy examples can be found below.
- Ultraseven: The iconic duel between Ultraseven and Alien Metron takes place against the setting sun, bathing the fighters and the Kitagawa skyline in an irradiant colorscape.
- Return of Ultraman: The first battle between Ultraman Jack against Black King and Alien Nackle takes place at sundown. As the fight turns into a Curb-Stomp Battle, Jack futilely begs the setting sun to lend him its energy.
- Ultraman Taiga: The episode Warriors in the Evening Glow features a sunset duel between Ultraman Taiga and Black King, followed by Alien Nackle pulling a Suicide by Cop against Taiga in front of the sunset, in homage to the above-mentioned episode.
Video Games
- Half-Life 2: Gordon Freeman's final showdown with the APC chopper that has been tormenting him for much of "Water Hazard" in the chapter's final map, occurring in a partially depleted reservoir at Golden Hour.
- "Henry Stickmin Series": In one ending of Completing the Mission, Henry faces off against the Right Hand Man on a train with a sunset in the background.
- Kirby: In the recurring sub-game "Samurai Kirby" (first introduced in Kirby Super Star), the duels between Kirby and his opponents take place in a wheat field at sunset, tying in with the sub-game's nature as a homage to Jidaigeki films.
- Mass Effect 3: In the final part of the Rannoch mission, Shepard ends up fighting a Reaper on foot during a sunset.
- Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance: The final battle between Raiden and Jetstream Sam takes place in the desert with the sun setting in the background.
- Nintendo Wars: In the Nintendo Switch version of Advance Wars, the mission "Rivals!" has Andy and Eagle's armies battle each other with a sunset hue on the map.
- No More Heroes: The eighth ranked assassin Shinobu is fought while the sun is setting, albeit in a building, mainly to compliment her samurai-ninja-schoolgirl motifs.
- No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle: Two of them:
- The seventh ranked assassin Ryuji fights Travis while the sun is setting, with the first phase being a duel on their bikes that highlight them in shadows. After that, Ryuji's Miyamoto Musashi motifs come into play, with his boss fight being another duel while the sun sets. While Travis tries to complete the homage by defeating him in an honorable duel, Sylvia guns him down instantly once Ryuji is on his last legs.
- The Number 2 ranked assassin in the game, Alice Twilight, where the level and boss battle take place at sunset. It serves as an emotional Climax Boss that makes Travis realize how the UAA's Ranked Matches have perpetuated a cycle of violence that he resolves to stop once his own goal for revenge has been fulfilled.
- Pizza Tower: The fight against The Vigilante takes place in front of a backdrop depicting the setting sun, fitting as a culmination of the Wild West theme of the floor he's the boss of and his own cowboy motifs.
- Street Fighter II: A few versions take place after nightfall, but most iterations of Ryu's pagoda rooftop stage feature a setting sun against a red sky.
- Super Mario RPG: The battle against Yaridovich takes place on a coastal cliff with a red sunset.
Web Animation
- DEATH BATTLE!: The fight between Mechagodzilla and The Dragonzord takes place in a power plant while the sun is beginning to set in the background.
Western Animation
- Chowder: Humorously inverted with a group of knights attempting to fight a literal rising sun.
- Samurai Jack: The battle between Jack and the ninja in "Samurai vs. Ninja" culminates in a sunset duel as the latter tries to use the gradually darkening sky to disappear in the dark and kill the white-clad Jack. However, Jack uses the last rays of sunlight to spot his opponent and kill him just as the sun sets.
