History Main / KiteRiding

* In the Famicom PlatformGame ''VideoGame/TimeZone'', the 1632 world ends with a {{rooftop|Confrontation}} BossBattle against a ninja on a kite.

* ''WesternAnimation/CaptainFlamingo'': In "[[Recap/CaptainFlamingoS1E11AFishCalledMiloHighAndFlighty High and Flighty]]", Lizbeth sees Rutger's autographed baseball in the computer monitors at the tall building, and she suggest to Milo to tell the guard to get it for them. However, after seeing four kids hanging on to his flamingo kite outside of the building where the baseball is at, Milo decides to learn himself to fly with his kite so he decides to cut the string holding the kids out from his kite, so that he can fly to the building himself and retrieve the baseball.

{{Flight}} is cool. Kites are cool. So it stands to reason that [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot flying on kites]] would be even cooler. This trope is when flight is provided by riding a giant kite.

While the trope is usually seen as used by [[{{Ninja}} ninjas]], that doesn't limit examples to just when it's used by them.

Subtrope of {{Flight}}. Related to RuleOfCool. Not to be confused with {{kiting}}.

* There was an episode of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02'' where Shurimon ties himself to a kite and introduces himself to a villain who wishes to fight him whilst airborne and stuck to the kite.
* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheWindmasters'' has Doraemon and friends visiting the Wind Village, whose citizens, including the gang's new friend Temujin, can control the wind. Cue Doraemon taking out a ''giant'' kite - which he calls the "Dora Kite" - so everyone can take a ride on it.

* The Cursed Warrior filler arc in ''Anime/{{Naruto}}''. The first episode of the arc shows the titular Cursed Warrior gliding in the dark, terrorizing a village. A few episodes later, it was revealed that he wasn't actually gliding, and that he was just riding a large black kite to give off the illusion of gliding, and that the "Cursed Warrior" was actually the feudal lord in disguise.
* The current page image is E-91 Lady Ninja, one of Dr. Eggman's [[MonsterOfTheWeek Robots of the Week]] in ''Anime/SonicX''. When Rouge the Bat tries to fly off with a Chaos Emerald, Lady Ninja extends the kite out of her back to give chase.

* Part of the M.O. of Kite-Man, a minor member of ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'''s RoguesGallery.

* In ''Literature/BenAndMe'', [[Creator/BenjaminFranklin Ben]] rigs a platform on his kite for Amos and a zipline he can ride down, which Amos enjoys immensely. As Ben begins to study electricity, he hints multiple times that Amos riding on the kite during a thunderstorm would greatly benefit his study. Amos declines. However, the day Franklin "discovers" electricity, he sends Amos up in the kite like usual — and Amos doesn't find out till too late that he's removed the zipline.

* ''Series/LazyTown'': In "[[Recap/LazyTownS1E2Defeeted Defeeted]], Stingy does this briefly when he is almost lifted up into the air by a kite, only to be brought back down by Ziggy for no apparent reason during the musical number; possibly a usage of StockFootage.
* In ''Series/ShurikenSentaiNinninger'', the team can use their [[ElementalPowers Five Elements Shuriken]]s' [[GreenThumb Wood]] technique to generate a kite for this very purpose. [=AoNinger=]'s dragon mecha is also summoned to the battlefield by kite. As their name suggests, these are examples of the ninja application of this trope.

* ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriorsAgeOfCalamity'': Impa of the ninja-like Sheikah uses her Paraglider this way, attaching the corners to her hands and feet to glide as if it was a kite. [[spoiler:Master Kohga does the same thing when he's unlocked.]]

* In the "Twilight of Edo Japan" chapter of ''VideoGame/LiveALive'', this is how Oboromaru gets to the castle of the Ode Clan.

* The purple Imps in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'' use this technique. They can be knocked off them with Galestorm.

* In the Famicom PlatformGame ''VideoGame/TimeZone'', the 1632 world ends with a [[RooftopConfrontation rooftop]] BossBattle against a ninja on a kite.

* In ''VideoGame/WiiPlayMotion'', the second, ninja-themed level of ''Trigger Twist'' has some of the ninjas approach the player with this technique.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfPussInBoots'': A thief has to do this to infiltrate San Lorenzo in "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfPussInBootsS03E01BootlessCries Bootless Cries]]", as the massive Bloodwolf statue standing under it is too tall to allow access to the city otherwise.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{CatDog}}'' episode "Hail The Great Meow-Woof", the titular duo travel to a jungle island by use of a giant kite, where they meet up with Rancid Rabbit who is acting as the king of said island.

* ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' occasionally showed the Joes and Cobras using hang gliders, though Cobra quickly got an upgrade with the rigid, jet-powered C.L.A.W. gliders.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicRoundabout'': In "[[Recap/TheMagicRoundabout2007S1E14LetsGoFlyAKite Let's Go Fly a Kite]]", Dougal unwittingly does this with Ermintrude's kite and flies away with it, before landing on the roof of the windmill where he is stranded.

* In ''VideoGame/NinjaSpirit'', the Stage 5 BossBattle is with the Tribe of the Nine Wind Demons, all nine of whom are arranged on a giant flying kite emblazoned with the kanji 影 ("shadow"). Smaller kites carrying individual enemy ninja appear in the following stage.

* ''VideoGame/NinjaSpirit'': Ninja enemies on kites are a recurring enemy in the city and fortress in ''VideoGame/NinjaEmaki''.
* The Stage 5 Boss Battle is with the Nine Fuuma Clan Ninja, all nine of whom are arranged on a giant flying kite emblazoned with the kanji 影 ("shadow"). Smaller kites carrying individual enemy ninja appear in the following stage.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThheAdeventuresOfPussInBoots'': A thief has to do this to infiltrate San Lorenzo in "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfPussInBootsS03E01BootlessCries Bootless Cries]]", as the massive Bloodwolf statue standing under it is too tall to allow access to the city otherwise.

* ''VideoGame/{{Unnravel}}'': Yarny hitches a ride on a kite during one of the levels.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThheAdevnturesOfPussInBoots'': A thief has to do this to infiltrate San Lorenzo in "[[Recap/TheAdventuresOfPussInBootsS03E01BootlessCries Bootless Cries]]", as the massive Bloodwolf statue standing under it is too tall to allow access to the city otherwise.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicRoundabout2007'': In "[[Recap/TheMagicRoundabout2007S1E14LetsGoFlyAKite Let's Go Fly a Kite]]", Dougal unwittingly does this with Ermintrude's kite and flies away with it, before landing on the roof of the windmill where he is stranded.

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/BenAndMe'', [[Creator/BenjaminFranklin Ben]] rigs a platform on his kite for Amos and a zipline he can ride down, which Amos enjoys immensely. As Ben begins to study electricity, he hints multiple times that Amos riding on the kite during a thunderstorm would greatly benefit his study. Amos declines. However, the day Franklin "discovers" electricity, he sends Amos up in the kite like usual — and Amos doesn't find out till too late that he's removed the zipline.
* ''[[Literature/{{Emberverse}} Dies The Fire]]''. Norman Arminger and his Portland Protective Association is able to use his knowledge of medieval history to dominate the post-Change world, but it's pointed out there are some things they didn't have back then, like hang-gliders, so one is used to fly someone in behind the walls of a PPA castle at night so the gates can be opened.
* In ''[[Literature/TheHammerAndTheCross King and Emperor]]'' the Waymen experiment with manned kites, mostly crewed by young boys. The kite crews wear a winged pendant for Volund, smith of the gods who made wings to fly away from his captors. Shef makes a kite for himself as well, but doesn't fly it very well, to his eventual detriment.
* ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kite_Rider The Kite Rider]]'', a children's story set during China's Song dynasty and the reign of Kublai Khan. Before setting out on a voyage a ship's crew "tests the wind" by sending a kite with a man attached into the air. The man dies during the flight and his soul goes into the clouds. Later the man's son must ride a kite into the clouds to save his widowed mother from being forced to marry the man who killed her husband.
* In Creator/DavidBrin's ''Literature/ThePracticeEffect'', someone carrying a large umbrella was caught in a powerful storm, which gave him the brainstorm for a kite. For a long time, tethered kites with soldiers riding them were used for patrol and defense, then another genius had a lucky/unlucky break when his tether broke and he invented a hang-glider, which became ''the'' word in advanced warfare, until Wizard Nuel came from a distant land...
* ''Literature/RowanOfRin'': The Forerunners of the Travellers use large silken kites to fly ahead of the rest of the tribe and warn of potential dangers, the cover depicts them being shaped like gliders.
* In ''Literature/TomSwift and the Cosmic Astronauts'' Tom Swift Jr. invents a "space kite" which uses cosmic rays as the "wind" and a gravity accelerator as the virtual string to keep it tethered to a body (planet, asteroid, etc.). It's designed for two people to be in. He gets this idea from watching some kids fly a regular kite.
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