History Main / BattleStrip

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''

* ''Manga/FairyTail''

* ''Manga/MahouSenseiNegima''

* ''Franchise/DragonBall''

* ''[[Manga/BakiTheGrappler New Grappler Baki]]''

* Manga/{{Toriko}} actually used this as a battle tactic once, removing his shirt to escape the explosive bugs that Tommyrod planted on him. [[MrFanservice Granted, Toriko does have a tendency to fight shirtless anyway...]]

* One ''Comicbook/XMen'' storyline has ComicBook/{{Storm}} returning to Africa to deal with bad guys invading her hometown. At one point, when in full 'weather goddess' mode, she chooses to battle wearing nothing but [[CensorSteam always-strategically-placed lightning]] because she wants to show herself as a force of nature.
* Necromancers in ''Comicbook/DeathVigil'' have a tendency to take off their shirts when using their powers. Allistor's dialogue suggests it's a matter of comfort, in that their sigils tend to itch when in use, so removing their shirts help alleviate it. It doesn't stop Sam [[RunningGag from complaining every time a Necromancer strips down around him]].

* ''FanFic/MegamiNoHanabira'': [[spoiler: [[BigBad Father Phillips]] throws away his sunglasses, priest's stole, hat, and jacket before engaging Mai and her friends personally.]]

* In the ''{{Series/Scrubs}}'' episode "My Day at the Races", both Turk and Todd rip off their tops (with hilarious ease) during JD's Kung Fu ImagineSpot.

** Doggie Kruger of Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger twists this trope. When he transforms, his coat vanishes thus making him shirtless, before his Dekamaster suit gives him his ranger uniform. His [[Series/PowerRangersSPD SPD]] counterpart Anubis Cruger has him toss out his coat as the ranger suit forms beneath. The former applies this trope more because we actually see a moment where he is shirtless unlike the latter.

* ''Franchise/StreetFighter''

* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid''

* ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'':

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros. 4'': Little Mac's entrance animation has him throw off his pink sweatsuit to reveal his boxing gear.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* Puripuri Prisoner of ''Webcomic/{{Onepunchman}}'' rips all of his clothes off before fighting. He calls this "transforming into Angel Mode".

* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''

* Abyo of ''Animation/{{Pucca}}'' always rips off his shirt before he fights.

* In ''Film/Snatch'', Mickey, the leader of a campsite of UsefulNotes/IrishTravellers, has challenged pugilistic [[OopNorth Yorkshire]] boxer Gorgeous George to a bare-knuckle match in exchange for returning the money he cheated from George and his friend Tommy. After [[MadeOfIron repeatedly tanking Gorgeous George's physical blows]] throughout most of the match, Mickey stands up against George's warnings and pulls off his shirt and vest, displaying his tattooed torso. Gorgeous George briefly appears frightened...and for good reason, because then Mickey hits him with a OneHitKO and downs him.

Battle Strip is when a character, especially one who is modest, either has a {{Stripperific}} battle uniform (for the gals), or doesn't [[ShirtlessScene wear a shirt in a fight]] (for the guys). The main reason is because clothing could restrict movement/attacks, or it's also a sign of badass. It also gives the opponent fewer things to grab and pin the fighter down with. However, sometimes it's just plain FanService.

** Kimimaro removed his top when he started actually fighting. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that clothes would only get in the way of his bone based powers.

** When the leader and former leader of Soul Society's stealth specialist squad fight, it just so happens that their most powerful moves blast off any clothing on their shoulder blades. Did we mention they were both extremely attractive female ninja ([[NinjaPirateRobotZombie ghost samurai]], and one is also a CatGirl)? The trope is also averted, as it's also revealed that their particular squad wears ''sleveless'' inner clothes (at the direction of the former leader, realizing the technique would do this), so even at their most powerful they're still decent.

** Jack Rakan once shredded the [[SleevesAreForWimps sleeves off his jacket]] simply by powering up a bit. He also tends take off his shirt for demonstrations and the like, [[RuleOfCool for no apparent reason]].

** In [[Manga/DragonBall the manga]] Tenshinhan also always removes his shirt before battle, and eventually stops wearing a shirt altogether.

** Don't forget Doppo's fight with Dorian, where the two men first face off in suits. While the latter discards his jacket, tie and shirt to fight bare-chested, the former strips down to a pair of trunks.

** Lingyu Bao enters the ring by doing a flip off of the school roof, [[ShirtlessScene slipping out of his jacket long the way]].

* In ''Manga/KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'', Kenichi takes off his chainmail shirt before his climactic battle with [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Shō]] [[EvilCounterpart Kanō]]. Justified in this case as the chainmail only barely blocked Shō's initial attack and Kenichi didn't want anything that would weigh him down more than absolutely necessary, since the extra weight could mean the difference between life and death against someone like [[TheAce Shō]].

* In one ''ComicStrip/KnightsOfTheDinnerTable'' storyline, one of the guys runs Sara's character in her absence. When [[RulesLawyer Brian]] points out that [[RPGMechanicsVerse shedding encumbrance increases her chance to gain initiative]], they take this to the logical conclusion and have the character [[FullFrontalAssault charge into battle naked carrying nothing but a weapon]]. This works for a while, but eventually gets her killed. Sara is not amused when she finds out.

* ''FanFic/MegamiNoHanabira'': [[spoiler: [[BigBad Father Phillips]] throws away his sunglasses, priest's stole, hat and jacket before engaging Mai and her friends personally.]]

* During the climactic fight in ''Film/TheOne'', Yulaw unzips the top of his coveralls and ties it around his waist. Why? Because he's wearing the same outfit as Gabe and they're both played by Creator/JetLi. Otherwise, the audience would be confused on who was who, and most audience members aren't proficient enough in martial arts to notice that they use different styles.

* In ''Film/TheShallows'' Nancy uses the remaining sleeve of her wetsuit to hang from the bouy she's stuck in order to retrieve some flare ammo that are floating in the sea, but when the shark attacks the buoy, since her wetsuit is still attached to the buoy, Nancy is forced to remove her wetsuit in order to survive and combat the shark. Also qualifies as a GivingThemTheStrip.

* There are several scenes in ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'' where Vin rips off her PimpedOutDress in order to be able to fight effectively. Vin doesn't find it very remarkable to be running around in her underwear (it apparnetly doesn't cover much less skin than what she used to wear as a street urchin) but more or less everybody else does.
* in the ''Literature/AubreyMaturin'' novel ''HMS Surprise,'' Stephen Maturin takes off his shirt to fight a pistol duel, because he doesn't want cloth in the wound.

* Wrestling/JerryLawler, Wrestling/KurtAngle and Wrestling/BigELangston have a variant where they pull down the straps of their singlets when things get serious. As does Wrestling/JackSwagger, Wrestling/KevinNash, and pretty much any wrestler who wrestles in singlet-type gear is pretty likely to pull down the straps, usually to telegraph their FinishingMove.

* Early in his career, Wrestling/{{Carl|itoColon}}y Colon wrestled in a wife beater and would often pull it off during the tail end of his matches, or when getting a "hot tag". His little brother Eddie then started a variant where he'd whip off his t shirt.

** Every time a major fight is about to take place you can count on Kazuma, his opponent or really any yakuza in general to fling off their shirt. Probably to show off their awesome tattoos.
** It happen so often and implausibly that Yakuza 6 all but parodies it when Kiryu goes spear fishing. Despite potentially wearing a red, tucked in polo shirt who's top button is undone and his neck visible, he's somehow able to fling the shirt off in one motion and reveal a skin tight diving suit that stops just below his chin!

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "The Losing Edge", Randy Marsh would take his shirt off before starting a drunken brawl with a rival team's dad during the Little League games. This always lead to him being arrested by the police with his shirt off and his pants around his ankles.

* Folk wrestlers and bareknuckle boxers in the old days would often remove their shirts for bouts. Today fighters have to wear special garments like shorts or leotards.

* ''Manga/{{FistOfTheNorthStar}}'': It is kind of hard to ignore the fact how just about every time Kenshiro goes into [[LimitBreak Rage mode]] (usually for emotional reasons), his touki incinerates his shirt. This similarly applies to major villains in battle against them. Kinda makes you wonder how their [[LimitedWardrobe Clothing magically reappears]] at a later time, considering the post-apocalyptic nature of their world. The only thing in fact to change as such are Kaioh's or Raoh's helmets. Raoh tends to remove his cape when fighting, and one or more of his shoulder pads usually burst off his shoulders when the pressure points in them are activated.

* [[BadassGay Puripuri Prisoner]] of ''Webcomic/{{Onepunchman}}'' rips all of his clothes off before fighting. He calls this "transforming into Angel Mode".

* In ''Film/Aliens'' Ripley strips down to a T-shirt before going into the main nest. It gets hot under an exploding nuclear reactor.

* In ''Film/GalaxyQuest'', Jason/Nesmith/Commander Peter Taggart rips off his shirt to fight the rock alien, which apparently he was known for, as Alexander Dane/Dr. Lazarus acidly remarks "I see you manged to get your shirt off."

* In ''Film/GalaxyQuest'', Jason/Nesmith/Commander Peter Taggart rips off his shirt to fight the rock alien, which apparently he was known for, as Alexaander Dane/Dr. Lazarus acidly remarks "I see you manged to get your shirt off."

* In ''Film/Aliens'' Ripley strips down to a T-shirt before ging into the main nest

* ''Disney/{{Tarzan}}'' spends most of his movie in a loincloth, [[spoiler: but when he decides to go back to England with his new human friends, he wears a fancy suit of clothes that his father left behind. When he returns to the jungle to save the gorillas from the zoo (or in Kerchak's case, the taxidermist's), he removes his clothes before he starts fighting the hunters.]]

* Since coming back from injury after Wrestlemania 32, Cesaro comes out in a nice suit before pulling it off to reveal his tights underneath.

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[[quoteright:300:[[Wrestling/HulkHogan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_hoganshirt.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:"Whatchya gonna do?"]]

* Men doing this is the source of the expression, "keep your shirt on".

* At Wrestling/{{WSU}} event, "Portugal's Perfect Athlete" Shanna wore three tops, the first being a Brazilian football uniform, which she took off [[IKnowMaddenKombat after scoring a goal]] on Hania. A fan in the front row handed her two dollars, so after winning the match Shanna took off her regular top and skimmed the crowd to collect more dollar bills, [[VictoriasSecretCompartment which she stuffed down her bra.]]

-->'''Konoka:''' Why'd he take his shirt off?\\

[[quoteright:300:[[Wrestling/HulkHogan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_hoganshirt.png]]

[[quoteright:300:[[Wrestling/HulkHogan https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hulk_sm_7266.jpg]]]]

* [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] throwing off his elbow pad before performing [[MundaneMadeAwesome the most electrifying move]] in all of entertainment!

* Pretty much a staple for brand extension era WWE Superstars since merchandise sales are a big part of the business, with many entering the ring wearing their T-Shirt and other merchandise, which they remove for the match. Wrestling/JohnCena is probably the most obvious. Others have standard entrance gear like jackets, robes, etc. that they will remove.

* [[http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/comic/title-457/ Strip 457]] of ''WebComic/BrawlInTheFamily'' had [[spoiler:FutureBadass [[SuperMarioBros Luigi]]]] doing this before his battle with [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ganon]].

* A commonly used bit of StockFootage in ''LightNovel/SorcererHunters'' is [[PunnyName Tira Misu]] taking off her glasses and cloak to reveal the dominatrix fighting outfit she wears underneath. She also takes off her high-heeled shoes - and is shown fighting in a different pair of high heeled shoes of a color that matches her new outfit.

Battle Strip is when a character, especially one who is modest, either has a {{Stripperific}} battle uniform (for the girls), or doesn't [[ShirtlessScene wear a shirt in a fight]] (for the guys). The main reason is because clothing could restrict movement/attacks, or it's also a sign of badass. It also gives the opponent fewer things to grab and pin the fighter down with. However, sometimes it's just plain FanService.