Free-Fall Romance

The landing is much less romantic.

We'll keep falling in love

We'll keep falling in love

Oh it's a miracle

I've got spirit, I've got wings

I've got fire in my lungs

— Gunship, Fly For Your Life

Our heroes appear to be falling to their doom, from a very tall height, but they don't seem to be too worried because they are in LOVE. Instead of panicking, they will probably hold hands while falling and share a heartwarming moment. There may even be significant plot development.

They will usually be saved by an improbable occurrence, or an ally that was there all along swooping in to save them. In the latter case, the situation is treated as if the ally's appearance is an extremely lucky coincidence, even if they were Right There in the moments leading up to The Fall. Or like in the Spirited Away example, one of the characters knows how to fly, and was just temporarily shocked into falling.

This is very closely related to Flight of Romance, with the difference that the heroes aren't in control of their "flight" at all, and the viewer is usually unsure whether they should be awed by the sweetness of the moment, or seriously concerned for the character's lives. Fortunately, it's Not the Fall That Kills You….

Often there's some variation of Headbutt of Love, and Almost Kiss. May result in a Now or Never Kiss, or a Dying Declaration of Love, although in this trope the characters usually do NOT worry like someone really about to die, or just don't think about it much at all, because The Power of Love will save them, obviously. Related: Love Floats.

Compare Free-Fall Fight, for the less-lovey-more-fighty version of the trope.

---

Examples:

Anime and Manga

• Happens more than once in Eureka Seven. These kids don't seem at all fazed to find themselves skydiving with no parachute. In fact, just falling isn't dangerous enough, so in the third opening this happens in the middle of a Free-Fall Fight.
• Immortal Rain Chapter 30: The main heroes reunite after being separated for a year, he leaps high (like, hundreds of feet!?!) into the air with her in his arms, while escaping danger. It's very sweet, there's a great view and fireworks (literal ones). But how they're going to land safely is never mentioned or explained. They're happily sitting on some grass in the next panel. Part of a larger Not the Fall That Kills You… recurring trope in this work.
• Kamichu! - Since the show is heavily inspired by Ghibli movies - the first episode naturally involves a love confession while falling in slow motion. Near the ground, the spell breaks and they splash down into the school pool.
• Kamisama Kiss has a Belligerent Sexual Tension variant of this occur between Tomoe and Nanami after he accidentally drops her off a skyscraper.
• There is one of these between Yuuhi and Samidare at the end of their final battle in The Lucifer and Biscuit Hammer, ultimately leading to their Love Confession and The Big Damn Kiss.
• While the two people at that point in their story were not yet in full admission of a relationship, Audrey Burne/Mineva Lao Zabi invokes a partial version of this in an episode of Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn. After rejecting the offer of alliance by Riddhe Marcenas (an impetuous Federation pilot whose approach to her has some very romantic undertones), she chooses to instead jump out into the stratosphere while psychically calling out to Banagher Links, the pilot of the eponymous Gundam. Banagher, even if he was locked in battle with the antagonistic Unicorn Banshee, immediately drops it and flies to her side, coupled with Giant Robot Hands Save Lives. Obviously, the fact that he's piloting a Humongous Mecha means landing at terminal velocity is not a risk to both of them.
• In the Ouran High School Host Club anime, when Haruhi falls off of a bridge while trying to convince Tamaki not to leave for France and he jumps off after her. It's a slow-motion fall that's quite romantic until the splash.
• The very end of REDLINE ends in a flying kiss.
• Spirited Away: A very beautiful example with other creatures and teardrops of happiness accompanying the heroes. Also a plot-relevant moment, as the main "reveal" in the movie is what triggers The Fall.
• Sword Art Online Between Kirito and Lizbeth in episode 7 of the anime. After escaping a dragons nest by hitching a ride on its inhabitant, the two free-fall down to the surface with a BEAUTIFUL Aincrad sunrise in the background. As they fall, Lizbeth confesses to Kirito, but he can't hear her over the sound of the wind.
  Lizbeth: Hey Kirito! You know what?
  Kirito: What?
  Lizbeth: I think I'm falling in love with you!
  Kirito: What was that?
  Lizbeth: (laughing as she hugs him) Nevermind!
• At the end of another Ghibli movie - The Tale of the Princess Kaguya - there is a sequence that starts as this trope. After narrowly missing the ground, the characters take off on a flying dream sequence.
• The climax of Weathering With You has Hodaka and Hina falling from the clouds after the former rescues the latter from being sacrificed, set to the triumphant strains of "Grand Escape". How exactly they landed is not shown, but given that they got into the air in the first place by getting teleported after going through the torii on the roof of the derelict building, it seems likely that they ended back up on the roof by getting teleported back too.

Fan Works

• Early in The Archmage's Last Bow, Nova Shine dives off the bow of an airship to do some skydiving, with Twilight Sparkle flying after him to catch him when he gets too close to the ground. As she pulls him out of the dive and starts flying back to the airship, they share an extremely intimate moment.
• In Pokémon Reset Bloodlines, Iris mentions to Misty that Dragonite often do this for courting.

Films — Animated

• Subverted in Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs where Scrat and Scratte both appear to be doing this... but then it turns out to be part of Scratte's plan to steal Scrat's acorn.
• The climax to Rio serves as the culmination to Jewel and Blu's budding romance. After having her wing injured, Jewel is thrown from a plane, and Blu dives after her despite his not knowing how to fly. Midair the two catch each other, and after Blu assures Jewel he'd never leave her to die, the two share a Big Damn Kiss that unlocks Blu's latent flight.

Films — Live-Action

• Short film In Passing has two strangers jump off a building and fall in love as they fall.
• Between James Bond and Madeleine in the opening credits of Spectre, foreshadowing their escape from a rigged building in the film's climax.
• Superhero Movie turns this into a Overly Long Gag. "This is a really tall building!"

Theme Parks

• Shrek 4D at Universal Studios has Shrek and Fiona falling beside a waterfall, saved by Dragon at the last second.

Video Games

• In the first Bayonetta game, after a Free-Fall Fight in the playable intro-scene, Bayonetta and Jeanne go Back-to-Back Badasses as they plummet from the remains of the Umbra Clock Tower. They survive, of course, but how they survive is never shown. This then becomes a Call-Back later on after the Final Boss, once again Bayonetta and Jeanne are back-to-back in the exact same pose (with the exact same diologue), and again, they survive with nothing shown of how they managed to pull it off. While love is certainly between them, its implied to be a very strong sisterly/platonic sort of love ... maybe.
• Haven (2020)'s closing credits cinematic depicts a nude Yu and Kay embracing in free fall, though this doesn't actually happen during the story. The OST track is even titled "Free Fall".
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: Once Link has destroyed Ganondorf in his Demon Dragon form, the ghosts of Rauru and Sonia show up to reverse Princess Zelda's transformation into the Light Dragon, causing her to fall while unconscious. The very last thing the player is tasked with doing is to skydive and have Link catch her midair so they can both land safely.
• At the end of Stage 6 in Sin and Punishment: Star Successor, Isa and Kachi share a tender moment together... while falling towards a volcanic crater filled with lava.
• Super Mario Galaxy: When Bowser is defeated for the third and final time and his Galaxy Reactor is collapsing, Mario swoops in to catch Princess Peach after she falls from Bowser Jr.'s airship (though "falling" is a bit subjective, given the wonky gravity for which the game is famous).

Western Animation

• Adventure Time: In "Food Chain", at one point in his Magic Man-induced journey through the food chain, Finn turns into a caterpillar and falls for a lady caterpillar named Erin. Unfortunately, their wedding is interrupted by a bird attack; as the two fall into the bird's mouth, Finn reassures Erin that if he had his life to live all over again he'd fall in love with her every time.
• In the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic episode "Secret of My Excess," Spike confesses his love for Rarity while they're both falling. She cuts him off and smiles to let him know that she knew all along.

Real Life

• The famous mating dance of the bald eagle (example here, set to appropriate music); the two birds will lock talons and drop from the sky in a spiraling free fall together.
• Certain romantically-minded daredevil humans recreate this trope in real life by proposing or getting married mid-air. Here is just one example of a skydiving wedding.

---