History Main / CueTheSun

** Several times in the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse, not always exactly a ''sunrise'' but sometimes just its appearance, with added meaning as the sun is the source of {{Superman}}'s powers.

** In ''Film/{{Thirst}}'', the sunrise is awaited by the vampire as the only way he can end his sinful life.

* ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear'' used the final battle version in Episode 12 of the first season. Tsubasa and Chris had [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificed their lives]], and Hibiki was having a pretty bad HeroicBSOD. Then Hibiki's friends started singing the school anthem over the school's announcement system. Cue the sun rising, HeroicSecondWind, ClimacticBattleResurrection, and EleventhHourSuperpower to show that the tide had just turned.

* In the "Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden" episode of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' anime series, just as it seems Team Rocket might gonna be successful, the sun rises. Cue the epic guitar theme, and Bulbasaur charging its Solarbeam.
-->'''PokeDex:''' Solar Beam, Bulbasaur's strongest attack. Light is collected and formed into a powerful beam with intensive force.

* In ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', the heartwarming scene of Mami having tea with her new friends is underscored by the setting sun's light flooding into her apartment.

* Spoofed in Jeff Smith's ''ComicBook/{{Bone}}''. After the Great Red Dragon lets the townspeople catch him, the townspeople tell Phoney (who has set himself up as a "dragonslayer") to finish him off. Phoney, who has no intention of actually killing any dragons, let alone the Great Red Dragon, insists on waiting until sunrise to slay the dragon. Unfortunately for Phoney, the sun rises in the middle of his impassioned speech on the subject: ''"The heavens themselves shall determine...'' oops."

* ''WesternAnimation/Nine'': Both films' ending scenes after the machine antagonists that threaten the protagonists have been defeated end at dawn (or possibly dusk in the 2009 film).

* In the extremely famous scene from "Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden" episode of ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' anime series, just as it seems Team Rocket might gonna be successful, the sun rises. Cue the epic guitar theme, and Bulbasaur charging its Solarbeam.
--> '''PokeDex:''' Solar Beam, Bulbasaur's strongest attack. Light is collected and formed into a powerful beam with intensive force.

* The third issue of X-23's series ends with her leaving an ExtranormalInstitute at dawn, having conquered her past. The usual connotations of freedom and (tentative) hope are present.

* ''Series/TheWarOfTheWorlds''. Experiments with typhoid bacteria have shown that Earth diseases can kill off the [[AlienKudzu red weed]]. In an act of despair, Amy smashes the cloches they have set up to protect the experiment, only to find a [[HopeSproutsEternal green Earth plant growing]] among the dead Martian weed. Amy then looks up as a hole in the clouds lets the sun through, [[RayOfHopeEnding and the series ends]].

* Subverted in ''Film/EmpireOfTheSun''. What appears to be this trope is actually the atomic bomb being dropped on Nagasaki hundreds of miles away.

** Subverted in the earlier ''Film/JudgeDredd''. Chief Justice Fargo is taking the Long Walk into the Cursed Earth, the lawless radioactive wasteland surrounding Megacity One. As two huge doors to the outside are opened, you see his honor guard flinch from the glare and the aghast expression on Fargo's face he sees what he's walking into.

[[quoteright:350:[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/battle_of_the_pelennor_fields.jpg]]]]

* Used at the end of ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'', after [[spoiler:Gurgi comes back to life for no particular reason.]]

** During the DarkestHour, when [[spoiler: Godzilla's been killed and King Ghidorah has awakened all the Titans at once to bring about TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. The human protagonists are sitting in their ocean base in despair wondering what they can possibly do now, as a violent storm pours down. A bright glow gradually begin to pierce through the clouds, growing larger and larger before suddenly the whole storm is blown away in a blinding light as Film/{{Mothra}} appears, leading to the characters discovering Godzilla is still barely alive underneath the seafloor]].

* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode 'Bugs', this trope saves the day, even though it's only a few minutes since the sun set!

** Much later has a weirder version: [[spoiler:Sozin's comet finally passes just after Aang beats Ozai. Then it becomes possible to see that sun, which was being blocked by ''another light source'']]
* Used at the end of ''WesternAnimation/TheBlackCauldron'', after [[spoiler:Gurgi comes back to life for no particular reason.]]

* In the animated cartoon version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', this happens at the climax of "Make a Man out of You". Ping/Mulan fails the whole training regimen and Shang pretty much tells him/her to go home. She then sees the arrow at the pole and decides to give it one last try. As she does, the sun rises and the other men start cheering her on. She succeeds and throws the arrow down to Shang's feet for emphasis, proving she ''can'' pull her own weight around.

* After Kaname breaks Sousuke out of his HeroicBSOD at the end of ''Lightnovel/FullMetalPanic! TSR'', the sun rises behind her.

* ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'': [[http://eva303.smackjeeves.com/comics/2056794/001/ Chapter fifteen's cover]] features Asuka watching the rising Sun right before taking off. There are several symbolisms present in the image: it is the start of both a new chapter and Part III of the doujin: Asuka is about to leave for a mission and fight her newest rival; and [[BreakTheHaughty after]] [[HeroicBSOD hitting]] [[BrokenAce rock-bottom]] during Part II, she has fully recovered and it is a new dawn for her.
* Happens twice in ''FanFic/RainbowDoubleDashsLunaverse''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}} 8: Imperishable Night'' subverts this, see TheNightThatNeverEnds for more details...
** ''Subterranean Animism'' uses a different kind of subversion: When you see the subterranean sun in all its fiery glory, you are about to face [[ILoveNuclearPower the final boss of the game]]. [[ThePowerOfTheSun Who then goes on to create some more]], which she hurls at you.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* At the end of ''Film/JurassicWorld'', the ''TyrannosaurusRex'' roars victoriously as the sun rises over the now-abandoned park.

** [[WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}} Aala wainya! Iimala iya away!]]

* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': the sun rising in ''WesternAnimation/PorkyInWaxkyland'' is hoisted up from the bottom by denizens of Wackyland.

* ''ComicBook/InfiniteCrisis:'' When Golden Age Superman appears to save his cousin Kara from the Secret Society of Super-Villains, it causes the red skies to momentarily disappear, in favor of sunlit blue.
* In ''Comicbook/KryptonNoMore'', When Franchise/{{Superman}} decides that he has got enough brooding and he flies away to face up to two villains who have been hounding him, the Sun rises above the clouds.
* In the Franchise/TinTin adventure "The Calculus Affair," after a funny CueTheRain moment, Tintin and Captain Haddock are walking through a downpour, oblivious to the fact that Tintin's dog Snowy is carrying Professor Calculus's umbrella...

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* In ''ComicStrip/{{Mutts}}'', Mooch sticks his head out the door to be faced with an ''enormous'' TheFaceOfTheSun, smiling. He observes it's summer (Sunday after the solstice.)
[[/folder]]

* The last night of ''Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest'' version two doesn't end until [[spoiler:Bryan Calvert]] has finally won and is being airlifted off the island. Only then does the sun finally start to rise, as if confirming that [[spoiler:his]] fight for survival is over.

* An ironic version in ''Theatre/{{Finale}}'', as the characters walk [[spoiler:to their deaths]] into the [[spoiler:burning]] sunset.

* In "VideoGame/ShounenKinindenTsumuji" after the Demon Castle is destroyed, the Sun rises over the mountains showing that the adventure is finally over.
* In one of the earliest examples, we've got the Angry Sun in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3''. To say the least, it was annoying.
* Entries in the ''VideoGame/{{Lunar}}'' series have a penchant for filing the sky with [[AStormIsComing ominous clouds]] (or even [[DarkIsEvil blotting out the sun]]) as the finale approaches.
** The ending of ''[[VideoGame/LunarTheSilverStar Lunar: Silver Star Story]]'' follows through by sweeping the dark clouds away to reveal the sun. All's well that ends well!
** ''VideoGame/LunarEternalBlue'' cues the sun for a different purpose: near the end of the game, the sun emerges from the clouds to signify that FallenHero [[spoiler:Ghaleon]]'s efforts at [[TheAtoner atonement]] have been acknowledged by [[PowersThatBe someone upstairs]].
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe'' is fought high in the sky, with a gigantic moon in the background. In the end, Kirby is grabbed and hopeless until Dedede comes to bring him his EleventhHourSuperpower. From that point on, [[CurbStompBattle the battle definitely turns to Kirby's advantage]], and the rest of it is fought in front of a glorious sunrise.

* In ''VideoGame/BloodRayne2'', the entire plot revolved around a group of vampires creating an artificial cloud barrier called the Shroud which would block out the sun's rays and allow them and their demonic minions to wander the earth freely. Interestingly, they accomplish this, and the Shroud seems for the moment anyway to be permanent (Rayne going so far as to say that she felt "for some reason" like everything would go back to normal after she killed the final boss). The last cutscene shows a SequelHook that implies a third game about a Rayne-led organization that defends humanity in this vampire-ruled world.
* In the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games there are moves called "Morning Sun" and "Sunny Day"; the former recovers half the HP of a Pokémon (all of it when it's bright out), while the latter powers up Fire attacks and certain Grass Pokémon.
** Many Grass Pokémon are typically taught Sunny Day and Solarbeam in tandem; under Sunny Day, the charge time for Solarbeam is thrown out, meaning four rounds (or more, if a drought stone or a Pokémon with the Drought ability is sent out) of nonstop solar-powered bombardment.
** Contrast Rain Dance, which, of course, makes it rain. As long as it's raining, Fire attacks and Solar Beam deal ''less'' damage, and Thunder is guaranteed to hit (in Diamond and Pearl, it even penetrates Protect and Detect 30% of the time).
* In ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers'', the player and their partner are sent into a BadFuture: a world where time has stopped and everything is shrouded in eternal darkness. After managing to find their way back to the present, one of the first things they do is take a moment to watch the sun rise. They then set out to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong and stop the future from happening.
** The fifth special episode in ''Explorers of Sky'' features side characters Grovyle, Dusknoir, and Celebi all attempting to avert the BadFuture, a prospect that is complicated by their all being from said future (meaning their success will [[RetGone erase them from existence]]). As the episode nears its climax, the player character's actions have begun a DelayedRippleEffect that gradually restarts time around them -- the wind begins to blow again, they start gradually [[DisappearsIntoLight Disappearing Into Light]], and the sky begins to grow lighter. They finally get to see the sun rise just before they all fade away, symbolizing the dawn of a new future.

* The first ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' game ends with Ryu and Irene watching a sunrise and Ryu saying "Look, the sun is rising. Everything is so bright now. The darkness is finally over." The third game also ends with a sunrise.
* This is one of your powers in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}''. Of course, you are playing the incarnation of the sun goddess. Very early in the game, you summon the Sun just to dry somebody's laundry...
** A more textbook example is in the fight with Orochi when you dramatically summon the moon to match the legend of Orochi's original defeat. [[spoiler:Later you're sent back in time to the first fight with Orochi, and do the dramatic moon-summoning that makes its way into the legend.]]
** The ultimate example comes during the FinalBattle: [[spoiler:even after being restored to her greatest glory by a CombinedEnergyAttack from all of Nippon, Amaterasu is still unable to harm Yami, Emperor of Darkness, in any way, even despite the ThemeMusicPowerUp. The only way to make it vulnerable (and, indeed, make it ''lethally vulnerable'') is to use Ammy's most basic skill, Sunrise, which pierces Yami's Eclipse and makes it writhe in pain]].
*** Made even more powerful by the fact that ''she never lost it''. Even when [[spoiler:Yami destroyed all the other brush spirits, the other gods who surrendered themselves to Amaterasu, who became part of her by returning to where they came from, he didn't destroy her. The reason Amaterasu had that power to begin with is that she ''is'' the Sun God, and unless Yami destroyed her, he could not destroy that power. As the trope description reminds us, cueing the sun is a way to signal that victory is near, that the darkness has passed, and that it's time for the light to shine. It's the ultimate way of giving people hope, and ''Amaterasu had it all along''.]]

* Subverted, played straight, and possibly reversed in ''VideoGame/SuikodenV'', where the plot centers around a set of runes related to various times of day - and which can be used to call down the fearsome power of the sun itself upon your foes! And since the runes end up on both sides of the central conflict, 'cueing the sun' in ''Suikoden V'' is synonymous with wholesale destruction for one side or the other. It even serves as the pre-battle wipe every time you have a RandomEncounter...
* In the [[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic future]] of ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', one of your quests later in the game takes you to the peak of Death Peak. When you reach the summit [[spoiler:and bring Crono BackFromTheDead]], the sun peeks out from behind the thick cloud cover.
* The sun rises during the final mission of ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar''; if you shoot down the optional fighters quickly enough, your wingmen remark on the beautiful sunrise and the hope they have for the future.

* ''[[VideoGame/NintendoWars Advance Wars: Days of Ruin]]'' takes place in a [[AfterTheEnd meteor-devastated Earth]] covered in clouds of dust and ash. The sun rising in the epilogue is a pretty big deal. As a bonus, the final level is called Sunrise.
* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}} 8: Imperishable Night'' subverts this, see TheNightThatNeverEnds for more details...
** ''Subterranean Animism'' uses a different kind of subversion: When you see the subterranean sun in all its fiery glory, you are about to face [[ILoveNuclearPower the final boss of the game]]. [[ThePowerOfTheSun Who then goes on to create some more]], which she hurls at you.
* The sun is one of the enemies in ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheTribute''.
* Occurs at the end of ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII''. [[spoiler:This is pretty much the only implication that, even after [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Kratos wrecked the planet out of revenge]], the world might be coming back together.]]

* The "Light of Dawn" solo in ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend'' causes the rising sun to appear and motivate your on-field troops. It can only be played by Eddie.
* The sun rises as you leave Ravenholm in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2''.
* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' does this as well. When you are in the final corridor of Soltis, you can see the clear blue sky through the holes in the ceiling, and right after you defeat [[spoiler:Ramirez and he sacrifices himself to summon the Silver Gigas Zelos]], the sky is suddenly smothered with dark clouds. After you defeat [[spoiler:Zelos]] and face off against [[spoiler:Zelos-Ramirez]], the sun starts to shine through the clouds, [[FridgeBrilliance which is laid out right behind your characters]], with the darkest part of the scenery behind [[spoiler:Zelos-Ramirez]] and where he crashed onto the Delphinus. Finally, when you defeat him once and for all, the dark clouds dissipate entirely, and Soltis falls back into the Vortex.
* The final battle in ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy'' takes place during nighttime. The sun rises during the cutscene after winning.

* Seeing this happen is the entire point of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Fight 'Til Dawn]] mode from ''VideoGame/AlanWake's American Nightmare''. Each round starts ten minutes before dawn and ends at sunrise (when the light kills every Taken on the field). Also, in the story mode, you kill [[BigBad Mr. Scratch]] by [[spoiler:luring him in front of a film projector and playing a movie of Alan and Alice watching the sun rise.]]
* In most ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}'' games, when you finally defeat the BigBad {{Dracula}}, the sun will come up moments later to herald the endgame cutscene.
** In ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaIISimonsQuest'' dawn is always heralded by the (unskippable, slowly scrolling onscreen) message "THE MORNING SUN HAS VANQUISHED THE HORRIBLE NIGHT".
** The above and this trope are referenced in ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaOrderOfEcclesia'' when Shanoa is about to storm Dracula's castle.
---> '''Shanoa''': I am the morning sun, come to vanquish this horrible night!
* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'', the Sun's Song is one of the [[MagicMusic melodies]] you learn on your ocarina, and it even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV3f5mv47OA plays]] on the Hyrule Field overworld every time the sun rises naturally, too. Link can use this ocarina tune to summon the sunrise if he's in Hyrule Field at night, and doing so makes [[WeakenedByTheLight nocturnal enemies]] such as Stalchildren and Poes disappear. It can also temporarily freeze Re-Deads and Gibdos.
* When you defeat VideoGame/{{Diablo|III}} for the third and final time, the dawn slowly breaks over ''[[spoiler:heaven itself]]''.
* After the game took place entirely during the night, the campaign "Blood Harvest" in ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' ends with the sun rising over the horizon as the survivors escape the zombies. Granted, the [[FromBadToWorse survivors go through a]] ''[[FromBadToWorse lot]]'' [[FromBadToWorse more crap after that,]] but as far as the video game goes, this was their happy (or, at least, ''relieving'') ending.
* At the end of the Story Mode in ''VideoGame/{{Mortal Kombat|9}}'', after Raiden [[spoiler:defeats Shao Kahn and the Elder Gods take him away]], the sun shines down on him, Johnny Cage, and Sonya Blade.
* ''VideoGame/{{DragonFable}}'' inverts this at the end of its first chapter, with the sun being eaten by a giant skeletal dragon.
* Night falls as the penultimate battle of ''VideoGame/SeriousSam: The Second Encounter'' begins. After you finish killing the lots and lots and lots of monsters present, the sun comes up again.
* The Egyptian chapter of ''VideoGame/Waxworks1992'' takes place during a single night, with the sun rising over the Pyramids when you exit the secret tunnel.

* Happens pretty frequently in ''Franchise/ResidentEvil.''
** In ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'' the sun comes up just before you kill the tyrant and Brad shows up in the helicopter to rescue you.
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil2'' By the time you evacuate Raccoon City via train, the sun has come up while it was completely dark in all other parts of the game.
** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3Nemesis'' The government is going to destroy Raccoon City at dawn, which is exactly when you escape.
** The sun's arrival plays a more important role in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'' You have to open the roof of a landing pad so that the newly risen sun's rays can destroy the FinalBoss.
* ''VideoGame/MinecraftStoryMode'': [[spoiler:After Jesse finally slays the Wither Storm, the sun comes out. Justified as the Wither Storm was blotting it out.]]
* The sun rises as ''VideoGame/CombatInstinct'' 3's FinalBoss is [[DoubleTap Double Tapped]].
* ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' first pulls a subversion, then plays it straight in its finale. [[spoiler:Due to a string of events, the black sun has begun absorbing the data of the Earth into itself meaning that the heroes have to fix it before sunrise or else everyone will be erased by it. They manage to pull it of leading to it being played straight when the people left behind see the sun rising over the horizon, now back to normal]].
* The ending for ''[[VideoGame/{{Gradius}} Gradius Gaiden]]'' features this.
* In the SurvivalHorror game ''VideoGame/ObsCure II'', the FinalBoss is fought just as the sun is starting to rise. Given that the monsters in the game are WeakenedByTheLight, this is your clue (in case the [[SuspiciousVideoGameGenerosity large stack of guns and ammo]] you found just before entering the boss arena wasn't enough) that you're about to enter TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV'': [[spoiler:when the game ends, the sun rises over Eos for the first time in over ten years.]]

* The ''VideoGame/{{Enigmatis}}'' trilogy ends with a scene of [[spoiler:the detective, her close friend Rick, and the resident HeartwarmingOrphan watching the sunrise from the ruins of a Himalayan monastery]].
* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'': At the end of the final mission [[spoiler:before Arthur Morgan dies of tuberculosis]], if you have high honor then [[spoiler:regardless of whether you help John Marsten escape or go for the gang's loot, Arthur will die peacefully while looking at the rising sun]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Shadowgate}}'': After the defeat of the Warlock Lord [[spoiler: by turning the Behemoth against him with the Staff of Ages, leading to the beast dragging the Warlock Lord back into the abyss with him]], the sun rises over Shadowgate for the first time in years.
-->'''Narrator''': ''Suddenly, it is very quiet. A beautiful light seems to fill the cavern. "The morning sun" you say to yourself. "It is over..."''

* The sun rises when the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' defeats the Justice Lords.
** Several times in the Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse, not always exactly a ''sunrise'' but sometimes just its appearance, with added meaning as the sun is the source of {{Superman}}'s powers.

* Played with (literally) in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', which results in Homer (during a MushroomSamba) breaking the sun.
* Lampshaded in ''WesternAnimation/HomeMovies'' in the third-season episode "My Cheatin' Heart." [=McGuirk=] walks up the golf green, silhouetted by rays of sunlight:
---> '''[=McGuirk=]''': Sorry I'm late, I had to wait for the sun to be at the right angle, for the effect...
---> '''Andrew''': Nice.

* In ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward]]'', Earth's sun is alien invader's [[TheVirus Sh'Okanabo's]] main weakness. When he (not yet knowing of this weakness, since it affects him only when he's particularly weak) begins turning New York's population into mindless, subservient Kanabo drones, the effect only lasts until the sun rises, which coincidentally occurs just when Sh'Okanabo is about to defeat last turtle standing Raphael. Later, in the episode "The Day of Awakening", Sh'Okanabo has taken over a moonbase and has programmed it to block out the sun in preparation in order to allow him to create Kanabo drones, and again, it is only as he is about to win that the heroes manage to open these shutters.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', during a US Acres segment, Bo the sheep actually says "cue the sun".
* In the second episode of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', the sun rises immediately following Nightmare Moon's defeat. It's [[JustifiedTrope justified]] because Nightmare Moon was keeping Princess Celestia, [[IDyeGrass who is responsible for raising and lowering the sun]], imprisoned; that's right, the sun literally ''wasn't allowed to rise until the big bad was defeated''.

* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'': after being forced to flee from the intergalactic government and search for an Earth-like planet out of the government's reach to live in refuge on, they finally decide on one. The Smith family gathers together to watch the sunrise, and it comes up - accompanied by the sound of it screaming. Yes, the sun. They decide to find another planet.

* Count Duckula's first encounter with WesternAnimation/DangerMouse is interrupted as the sun is coming up. The Count flees to his castle in panic.

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1516431997093284100
%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.

* ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod'': The end of the Untrustworthy Room arc ends with Viole staring into the morning sun.
* When the BigBad of the fifth season of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' Chaos is defeated, the clouds break apart.
* In ''Anime/TheMysteriousCitiesOfGold'', Esteban has the ability to summon the sun. Which is convenient, since much of the LostTechnology is solar-powered.
* In ''Manga/FruitsBasket'', while Rin is letting Tohru hold her during her sickness, the sun rises.

* ''Manga/InuYasha'':
** When Miroku and a possessed Sango square off, just as Miroku affirms his intention to purge the demon from Sango, the sun starts to peek over the horizon in the background.
** Also seen in the episode which reveals that Inuyasha becomes fully human during the new moon. Just when it looks like the spider demon has won, sunrise breaks, restoring Inuyasha's full strength.
* Inverted by ''[[Anime/GaoGaiGar GaoGaiGar FINAL]]''. The Sun (or [[ThatsNoMoon the machine disguised as it]]) gives the villains ridiculous regeneration, so when it's activated and starts shining brightly, the battle suddenly gets a ''lot'' tougher for the Brave army.

* At the end of the ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'' [=TV=] series, the impenetrable canopy of pitch-black clouds (which had covered the world ever since the last episodes of the first season) dissipates and lets glorious columns of sunlight shine through.
* After Kaname breaks Sousuke out of his HeroicBSOD at the end of ''Lightnovel/FullMetalPanic! TSR'', the sun rises behind her.
* Inverted in ''Manga/BlackBloodBrothers'' when Jiro is facing off against [[spoiler:Cassa]]; it's not the sun that makes his skin burn, it's the ''rain''.
* Near the end of the second ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'' movie, the sun rises at ''just'' the right moment. Saying any more than that would spoil a really sweet ending.

* At the end of the manga version of ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'', [[TheHero Rosette]] looks out at the sun rising through the clouds, spreads her arms, and says "Come on, let's go. There's plenty for us to do!"
* The sun rises immediately after the climax of the Battle of Teppelin in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann''.
* [[JustifiedTrope More than symbolic]] in ''Manga/{{Pluto}}'': the robot Epsilon is solar-powered, so the appearance of the sun in the middle of a fight signals a shift in his favour.

* ''Anime/GunXSword'' makes heavy use of the sunrise as a symbol; the protagonist even takes "Van of the Dawn" as his preferred nickname. The most notable CueTheSun moment comes in episode 16, when Van experiences an epiphany right as the sun rises, making the [[WhatDoYouMeanItsNotSymbolic cross-shaped object]] in his hands shine brightly.

* In ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' the evil spirits that are drawn to [[AllergicToEvil Guts' brand]] are more prevalent and more powerful at night, and Guts has to spend the entire night fighting and warding them off. However, the spirits are [[LightIsGood vulnerable to light]], so when the sun begins to rise and eliminates all other evil spirits in the vicinity, it means that Guts has successfully cheated death once again! ... [[HereWeGoAgain only to have to repeat it the following night!]] Woo!
* Happens a lot in ''Manga/{{Saiyuki}}'' for numerous reasons thematically. The first is obviously to imply that the heroes are, well, heroes, can't you tell? Look at this heroic shot! The second is as part of a symbolic bet between Ukoku Sanzo and Koumyou Sanzo, the first being thematically attached to darkness and the second to the moon. Their bet is over who will be the rising sun who finally defeats Ukoku, and Koumyou obviously bet on his student, Sanzo. The third is just the obvious fact that the main characters are [[Literature/JourneytotheWest traveling west]]. What else travels west? WHY, THE SUN! There are actually more, but they mainly support Sanzo's thematic ties with the sun as per the bet Koumyou and Ukoku made, so I won't bother mentioning them. So I suppose this could perhaps be the most justified use of this trope? Ever?
* Although things are about to go from bad to worse, volume 2 of ''Manga/MaidenRose'' manages to end on a somewhat hopeful note with a scene of the young cadets walking towards the wreckage as the sky lightens.
* In ''Anime/YuGiOhCapsuleMonsters'', the sun rises in episode 10 after Yami slays the Five-Headed Dragon.

* {{Justified|trope}} in ''Manga/DigimonVTamer01'', as storms form when powerful monsters fight one another.
* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': It starts raining during Trost as Mikasa recalls her memories of her past and especially when she believes [[spoiler:Eren is dead]]. When it looks like it's curtains for her, she suddenly remembers Eren's [[DareToBeBadass exhortation to fight and win]] just as the sun breaks through the clouds.
* In ''Anime/LesMiserablesShojoCosette'', this happens once, when [[spoiler:Javert decides not to suicide, symbolizing his change of heart]].
* During the climax of ''Anime/TheGardenOfWords'' a momentary break in the storm allows sunshine to illuminate Takao and Yukari after the former finishes [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech venting his frustrations to her]] outside her apartment. The sunlight falling unto Yukari's face mirrors her finally opening up to Takao.
* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'': [[PresidentEvil Wrath]] has [[ReligiousBruiser Scar]] dead to rights, all while mocking him about his belief in a god... then the eclipse above them ends, and the sun's light glints off of Wrath's sword and blinds him long enough for Scar to fatally wound him. The irony isn't lost on Wrath.
* ''Manga/FairyTail'':
** The sun rises in the Nirvana Arc after the defeat of the Oracion Seis and the destruction of the titular magic superweapon [[spoiler:as well as the arrest of the {{Heel Face Turn}}ed Hoteye and no-longer-brainwashed-and-now-amnesiac Jellal, with Erza weeping for her old friend]].
** After the defeat of Grimoire Heart's [[BigBad leader]], Hades, the sun rises, signifying the titular guild's victory over the dark guild. [[spoiler:This is only a temporary victory, however, as later Acnologia shows up...]]
** In the Tartaros Arc, the sun rises after the failure of Tartaros' plan to activate Face, [[spoiler:and Zeref takes back the book of E.N.D., and right after Acnologia kills Igneel. Natsu screams Igneel's name in despair.]]
* The sun starts coming up when Tohru's father leaves and Tohru reunites with Kobayashi in the final episode of ''Manga/MissKobayashisDragonMaid''.

* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', All Might tells Izuku that he can be a hero just as the sun is beginning to set, turning the sky a warm orange with the sun shining brightly down on the two of them.
* ''Anime/SenkiZesshouSymphogear'' used the final battle version in episode 12 of the first season. Tsubasa and Chris had [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificed their lives]], and Hibiki was having a pretty bad HeroicBSOD. Then Hibiki's friends started singing the school anthem over the school's announcement system. Cue the sun rising, HeroicSecondWind, ClimacticBattleResurrection, and EleventhHourSuperpower to show that the tide had just turned.

* The third issue of X-23's series ends with her leaving an ExtranormalInstitute at dawn, having conquered her past. The usual connotations of freedom and (tentative) hope are present.

* In the animated cartoon version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'', this happens at the climax of "Make a Man out of You". Ping/Mulan fails the whole training regimen and Shang pretty much tells him/her to go home. She then sees the arrow at the pole and decides to give it one last try. As she does, the sun rises and the other men start cheering her on. She succeeds and throws the arrow down to Shang's feet for emphasis, proving she ''can'' pull her own weight around.

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'':
** The coming of the morning after Shifu's argument with Po that ended after Po confessed his deep sense of worthlessness and Shifu likewise admitted he did not have an idea of how to fix that. After a night of racking his brain for an answer, the sun comes up as Shifu hears a ruckus in the kitchen and finding Po doing some impressive physical feats for food. Thus with the sun rising, so does the critical inspiration for Shifu concerning a way to train Po effectively.
** And then ''again'' near the end, after Shifu and Tai Lung's intense duel in the rain. The sun rises as soon as Po appears, signifying that the dark part is over and it's time for the hero to kick ass. It's at this point that the real final battle begins.
* At the end of ''WesternAnimation/{{Igor}}'', this is [[spoiler:justified since Igor has destroyed the BigBad's WeatherControlMachine]].

* The final shot of ''WesternAnimation/{{Fantasia}}'', set to Franz Schubert's ''Ave Maria'', no less.

* In the Patrick Bergin/Creator/UmaThurman [[Film/RobinHood1991 1991 film version]] of ''Myth/RobinHood'', the sun doesn't shine until the Norman/Saxon rift begins to heal with the marriage of Robin and Marian.
* In Creator/TimBurton's ''Film/SleepyHollow1999'', the shots of Ichabod Crane heading for Sleepy hollow are dark and gloomy, and the sunlight is NEVER seen in Sleepy Hollow itself, but only when those same shots are repeated as Ichabod [[spoiler:and Katrina]] are heading back for New York City.
* In slasher movies ''Film/JustBeforeDawn'' and ''Film/HellNight'', the climax happens just before sunrise.
* Satirized in Creator/BusterKeaton's ''Film/TheScarecrow''. The opening title, "Slowly and majestically the sun steals gradually over the hill-tops," is followed by the sun shooting straight up from the horizon and then hanging in place.
* ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'':
** In ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheTwoTowers The Two Towers]]'', when Gandalf and the Rohirrim arrive to save the day. They ride down the hill, bearing down on the Uruk-Hai army, who form lines with spears out, but just before the two groups clash...'''SUNRISE!''' and it is so sudden and so fast that the light from the sun ''blinds the spear-wielding Uruk-Hai on the front line,'' making them turn away, thus enabling the Rohirrim to crash through what is normally a cavalry-charge-breaking defensive tactic. The cinematic effects make it look as if Gandalf helped it along quite a bit, too. Which matches the magic he used for his dramatic reveal earlier. (And to bring the symbolism full-circle, remember that he identified himself as a "wielder of the flame of Anor" to the Balrog. ''Anor'' is the Sindarin name for the sun.)
--->'''Gandalf:''' A Wizard is never late. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.
** Also done in ''[[Film/TheLordOfTheRingsTheReturnOfTheKing The Return of the King]]'' during the Ride of the Rohirrim. As the Rohirrim shout "DEATH!" for the third time, the camera pans out from them, revealing the entire army with the sunrise gloriously shining from behind them (from the wrong direction, but whatever), as music swells up triumphantly.
* ''Film/BladeRunner'': In an incidental SpecialEffectsFailure which turned into a moment of awesome, Roy Batty releases his dove and it flies into the sunny sky, giving some hope to Deckard the future would be brighter. This is averted in the Final Cut of the film; they fixed the shot so that the dove now flies up into the rainy night sky.

* In ''Film/HocusPocus'', the rising of the sun marks when the spell allowing the three witches to live again for one night on Halloween runs out because they didn't succeed in draining the lives of the children of Salem. They go "poof."

* ''Film/TheTrumanShow'' does, in fact, have a moment like this, but it is not in fact when the line is spoken. It's right when the storm lets up in the climax that is the true example.
* In ''Film/TheProposition'', a sunset coincides with [[spoiler:the shooting of primary villain Arthur Burns. Although Not Quite Dead, he spends his last few minutes going outside to watch the sunset. Charlie, who just shot him, goes and watches it with him.]]
* In the movie ''Film/{{Westworld}}'', the technicians watch for sunrise, and cue all the robots to start up at the instant where the sun rises above the horizon. A western town is frozen in mid-movement, then everything starts up when the sun rises.

* At the end of ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'', the Oracle and Sati are sitting on a bench in a green park under a stunning sunrise. Which was made by Sati ("for Neo"), showing her to be pretty GenreSavvy where symbolism is concerned.
* The entire story of ''Film/{{Collateral}}'' takes place at night. At the end, when [[spoiler:Max has killed Vincent and gets away with the girl]], we see the sun coming up, showing us that night's finally over and order's restored.
* ''Film/PrideAndPrejudice2005'' ends with Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth confessing their love for each other at dawn, finally embracing as the sun comes up.
* At the end of ''Film/TronLegacy'', Sam shows Quorra something she so eagerly wanted to see for herself: a sunrise. She's enraptured by the sight. In some theaters, the house lights were brought up with the sun.
* The film ''Film/MorningGlory'' cleverly uses a sunrise shot to close the film - which is very apt as it is about a morning TV show - and watching protagonists walk into a sunrise is that much more interesting than seeing them ride off into the sunset.
* Implied in ''Film/JoyRide'': while it's the rain that "makes everything clean again" and ends Rusty Nail's AxCrazy phase, the rain is followed by the sun, which brings a "new day".
* ''Film/ImACyborgButThatsOk'' ends with a stunning sunrise creating a rainbow over the desolate landscape.
* ''Film/MishimaALifeInFourChapters'' begins and ends with a sunrise as well as having a plane break through dense clouds during the eponymous characters NoMoreHoldingBackSpeech moment.
* ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'': "Nice dissolve!" They go on to be rescued by the Dinks and meet Yogurt later that day.
* ''Film/ThirteenDays'': In the climax when they're not sure if the next day will start nuclear war or resolve the situation, a shot of an exploding nuke is shown which morphs into the rising sun.
* At the end of ''Film/JurassicWorld'', the ''TyrannosaurusRex'' roars victoriously as the sun rises over the now-abandoned park.
* ''Film/TheHungerGames'': Invoked by the Gamemasters, who can control the ambient lighting.
* The Rising Sun has of course long been a symbol of Japan. In ''Film/MorningForTheOsoneFamily'' it takes on a new meaning. The Osones greet Ichiro, who is released after the war following nearly two years in prison. He points out the sunrise, saying "It's a new day for the Osone family...the dawn of Japan." The final shot of the movie shows the sun, here symbolizing the birth of democratic Japan, rising over the ocean.
* The second-to-last scene in ''Film/KeyLargo'' is Nora opening the blinds to let the sun in after the hurricane has passed.

* In ''Film/{{Napoleon}}'', the final night of the Siege of Toulon is fought during a rain- and hailstorm. After the battle is won, the weather clears up and the sun rises.
* Luke Skywalker watches a sunrise in one of the last scenes of ''Film/TheLastJedi,'' indicating that hope is returning to the galaxy, and also providing a lovely CallBack to the binary sunset [[Film/ANewHope all those years ago]]. It also serves as a transition because [[spoiler: he dies just after]].
* ''Film/LemonTreePassage'' ends with [[spoiler:Jordan and Maya]] walking along the road out of the bush with the sun rising behind them. This signifies that the night, and the nightmare they have been battling, is over. This is further cemented when they find their car and it starts the first time.

* Used as a BaitAndSwitch moment in the climax of ''Film/MissionImpossibleFallout''. The film gives the impression that [[spoiler: the nuclear bombs they're trying to defuse went off, but it turns out to be the glare from the sun shining over the skies of Kashmir.]]
* ''Film/ThePhantomOfCrestwood'' ends with the sun coming up, the killer dead and the police planes arriving as Esther and Frank kiss.

* When Jake and Elwood visit a church for inspiration in ''Film/TheBluesBrothers'' movie, just as the preacher points at him and asks, "Have you seen the light?", the sun comes streaming through the stained-glass window, illuminating Jake in a heavenly glow.
* ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' has everything turn dark and gloomy after Thanos's army arrives. And in the DarkestHour, as Captain America prepares a last stand, a luminous magical portal opens up behind him, revealing the noon sunshine of Wakanda.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': As the titular battle of ''Literature/BattleGround'' ends the morning sun breaks through the clouds.

* In ''Literature/TheHobbit'', Bilbo is caught by three trolls, and the dwarves are captured in their turn when they arrive to find out what has become of him. While Bilbo escapes to hide in a bush during the fight with the dwarves, he can do nothing but listen helplessly while the trolls argue about how to cook them; but Gandalf, unseen, keeps re-igniting the argument until sun-up when he shouts, "Dawn take you all!" and they turn to stone in the sunlight.

* In the climactic FinalBattle of ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows'', the morning sun rises while Harry and Voldemort are talking to each other, and it's the cue they use to attack for the last time. It was a long night after all...

* Whenever Dracula needs to be killed, it's even money that it's the first rays of a sunrise that finishes him off. Unless some angry man with a whip and a family grudge comes beats his ass silly first.
** In ''VideoGame/SuperCastlevaniaIV'', it's both!
** [[spoiler:In [[Literature/{{Dracula}} the original novel]], Dracula's appearances were foreshadowed by the sunset.]]
** Subverted in the actual novel. Dracula is able to walk around in sunlight, he just has to stay in his coffin from dawn to noon. In fact, Dracula dies at ''sundown.'' It's a race to prevent him from becoming more powerful, not to waste time until he's weak.
*** Also he can shapeshift only at dawn and dusk so if they'd been a moment too late he could have turned into mist and escaped.

* With an [[LargeHam excessively dramatic]] "Behold!" [[Literature/{{Belgariad}} Belgarath]] commands the sun to rise in a far northern land, in the dead of winter, causing the demon summoners who are busy summoning demons to lose their concentration, with naturally fatal results. Naturally, it was a rather neat illusion on Belgarath's part.
--> "Behold!" I thundered--augmenting my voice, I'll admit--and I pointed dramatically toward the south. I didn't want the moon or the northern lights lessening the impact of what I was going to do.
--> Then, posing like a charlatan in a country fair, I spoke the words that released my Will in a voice they probably heard in Kell.
--> "Rise up!" I roared--and the sun came up.
--> -------------------------------------------------
--> Oh, come now. You know better than that. Nobody can order the sun around. Don't be so gullible.
--> It looked like the sun, though. It was a very good illusion, even if I do say so myself.
* In ''Literature/TheLionsOfAlRassan'', there is a climactic duel between the champions of two armies at sunset. This is absolutely full of symbolism, given that one side is the sun-worshiping Jaddites, and the other is the star-worshiping Asharites. True to form, [[spoiler:the Asharite wins as the sun sets.]]
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** In ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'', the sun rises just as Susan saves the Hogfather's life. [[spoiler:This is important, because if the Hogfather hadn't been saved the sun wouldn't have risen. Had she failed, [[NoManOfWomanBorn a mere ball of flaming gas would have illuminated the world]].]] Then again, given the Literature/{{Discworld}}'s dependence on [[TheoryOfNarrativeCausality Narrative Causality]], the difference between the two is probably more than semantic.
** The final line of ''Literature/{{Night Watch|Discworld}}'' is "And the world turned toward morning."
** At the end of ''Literature/{{Pyramids}}'', [[spoiler:Pteppic]] causes the sun to rise, which brings Djelibeybi back into contact with the outside world.
*** It's more subtle than that. It's a sort of RunningGag that may or may not be true, due to the Discworld's NarrativeCausality, that the pharaoh causes the sun to rise. The pharaoh himself is kind of uncertain about this, but all the priests assure him it's true. Even the way it's done in the book leaves it up to the reader to determine whether or not it was a coincidence.
* In ''Literature/{{Deryni}} Rising'', Kelson invokes this in his coronation duel with Charissa, [[spoiler:calling the sun to appear to help him kill one of her monsters, then calling on the skies to darken until he finished her]]. Afterward, the sun reappears to cast the same pool of multicoloured light on the floor (from a stained glass window), and people in the congregation murmur, thinking it's still dangerous. Kelson moves to stand in it before summoning Morgan and Duncan to join him there.
* Perhaps not as epic as some, but after spending a stormy night stranded on an island inside a rickety, smelly shack, Bobby Marks wakes up to find the sun rising over Rumson Lake for a calm, clear day. It Mark's the turning point of his character development in ''Literature/OneFatSummer''.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
** Creator/MattStover's ''Literature/{{Shatterpoint}}'': In the climax, as [[EverybodysDeadDave everyone is dying]], and a fallen Jedi gains the upper hand over Mace Windu, dawn arrives just as Mace and his allies are able to call off the droid starfighters holding the planet's capital city hostage.
--->In the skies over Pelek Baw, as the snowcap on Grandfather's Shoulder kindled with the first red rays of dawn, droid starfighters disengaged from clone-piloted ships and streaked back into the depths of space.\\
In the command bunker, the swirl of dark power crested, paused, and began to recede.
** Stover's ''Literature/LukeSkywalkerAndTheShadowsOfMindor'', has, near the end, a scene where Han and Leia sit outside the ''Millennium Falcon'' waiting for the world to end. They could fly off the planet, but they can't escape -- [[NoWarpingZone gravity well generators]] are preventing escape into hyperspace and causing massive solar flares, massive solar flares are killing everything that isn't shielded by the bulk of Mindor, and the bulk of Mindor is about to [[EarthShatteringKaboom go to pieces]]. Everything that they could do has been done, and they don't know what Luke is doing. So they decide to sit outside, have a picnic, get in a LastKiss, and watch the sunrise, thinking these would be their last moments. [[spoiler:They aren't.]]
* In ''Literature/ThePhantomTollbooth'', our protagonist, Milo, runs into Chroma the Great, conductor of the orchestra that gives light to the world (It's a bit metaphysical.) Basically Chroma's job early in the morning is to cue the sunrise, and during the final battle, he whips up an epic light show.
* In ''The Ugly Swans'' by Creator/StrugatskyBrothers, the city of Tashlinsk is perpetually clouded. When The children take the city over and baddies flee, the sun evaporates the clouds, [[spoiler:the proceeds to evaporate the old city.]]
** In ''Literature/TheDoomedCity'', the artificial sun is re-ignited just as [[spoiler:the revolution caused by its malfunction has reached its peak.]]
* Tavi literally cues the sun in ''Literature/CodexAlera'' Book 3. He orders his windcrafters to part the clouds and reveal the sun at high noon. He does this so the windcrafters can shape the air into a giant magnifying glass and fry the Canim like ants.
* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''[[Literature/TheGoldenOecumene The Phoenix Exultant]]'', Phaethon defies Atkins -- "Let them try" -- just when the dawnlight came to hit his armor and make it gleam.
* ''{{Literature/Malevil}}'' makes use of this twice.
** The world suffers from TheNightThatNeverEnds after WorldWarIII. The survivors struggle to survive for several months before two events give them hope for the future: confirmation of other survivors and the first rain since the war is non-radioactive. Just as everything is finally looking up, the sun finally breaks through the ash and the world truly begins to heal.
** Near the end, during [[spoiler:Emmanuel's KangarooCourt trial at Fulbert's hands. The setting sun comes through the chapel's stained glass window behind Emmanuel and he feels the light emanating from around him and illuminating the room as he turns the trial against Fulbert]].
* In ''Literature/ThePaleKing'', Creator/DavidFosterWallace says that a rural Midwest sunrise is as soft and romantic as someone’s abruptly hitting the lights in a darkened room.
* Creator/DouglasAdams lampshades this in ''Literature/DirkGentlysHolisticDetectiveAgency''
--> "With an impeccable timing of which it is very rarely capable the sun chose this moment to burst briefly through the gathering rainclouds, and as she played her cello a stormy light played on her and on the deep old brown of the instrument. Richard stood transfixed.
** From ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything'':
--> Several billion trillion tons of superhot exploding hydrogen nuclei rose slowly above the horizon and managed to look small, cold and slightly damp.
* In Creator/DevonMonk's ''Literature/DeadIron'', the sun comes from behind the clouds just as Mae sets out to the Madder brothers'. She takes it as a good omen.
* Sunrise has significant magical power in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles''. Because of its symbolism of renewal, it tends to wash away existing magics, even quite strong ones, so most spells will end at dawn unless enforced or protected. As well, intensely magical beings such as ghosts, vampires and some otherworldly beings cannot bear the sunrise, and will be destroyed or forced out of the mortal plane unless they can find shelter.

* [[Literature/BookOfTheNewSun The Urth of the New Sun]]: Severian stands to be executed over a misunderstanding until an apparent miracle makes it appear that he both delayed and caused the sunrise.
* In Richard Ellis Preston Jr.'s ''Literature/ChroniclesOfThePneumaticZeppelin'' novel ''Romulus Buckle and the Engines of War'', when Romulus sees the "dawning bore" -- a flood of colors -- he feels new hope that Max will live.
* In ''Literature/{{Steelheart}}'', near the end of the final fight. Has more than symbolic significance, because it also shows that Nightwielder is dead.
* ''Literature/HappyBirthdayToYou'': The Birthday Bird is implied to show up around this time in the "brightening sky" but, with "not all awake".
* ''Literature/TheDivineComedy'': Hey, Dante, what's a good time to emerge from Hell? Oh, alright, I'll meet you when "Daybreak defeats darkness's last hour" and we'll start heading over to God's place. It'll be more symbolic than last time, I promise.

* Inversion: In the season 3 denouement of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', the Mayor's ascension was immediately preceded by an eclipse.

** Played straight in the season 5 finale, where the sunrise signals Buffy's decision to [[spoiler:sacrifice herself to save [[MeaningfulName Dawn]].]]

* In ''Series/ThePillarsOfTheEarth'', a monk tries to persuade a group of soldiers to allow workers to return to a quarry to cut stones for a cathedral. He arrives at the quarry right before dawn on purpose, so when the leader of the soldiers is about to strike him down with his sword, the sun rises behind him and reflects on the golden cross in the monk's hand.

* Done for TearJerker effect in ''Series/BabylonFive'' in the final episode where [[TheHero John Sheridan]], knowing he is going to die very, very soon, rises early to watch his final sunrise, accidentally waking Delenn ([[InterspeciesRomance his wife]]). It becomes truly heartbreaking at the end, where we find that Delenn would get up early every day, for the rest of her life, to watch the sun rising as her way of keeping John alive in her memories.
** Later, after he goes to Coriana 6, where he spends his final hours, [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Lorien]] visits him. As he tells Sheridan it's time to rest a bright light fills the ship.
-->'''Sheridan''': Well, look at that. The sun's coming up.
* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode 'Bugs', this trope saves the day, even though it's only a few minutes since the sun set!
* Done for symbolic and dramatic effect at the end of the ''Series/ForeverKnight'' series finale, to further reinforce the indication of the KillEmAll ending and probably to represent redemption in death.

* Subverted in the ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' episode "4,722 Hours"; there was no sunrise on the planet Maveth, and after her third day on the harsh alien world Simmons was driven to tears, shouting "Where's the sun?" Later played straight in "Chaos Theory", which ends with Fitz and Simmons watching a sunrise together, establishing that whatever Simmons may feel for Will, she still has feelings for Fitz.