The appearance of a faint white or grey fog or glow around and above objects and people during a rainstorm. This is a representation of a real-world phenomenon — a kind of mist generated by the shattering of raindrops impacting on a surface — which normally can only be seen under the right angles and light conditions, but which in anime can be seen all the time during a rainstorm. Adds an almost otherworldly air to rainy scenes, but also makes drawing rain much easier.
For technical reasons, this trope is more ubiquitous in animation than in live-action productions. Also, in the former, it can also take the form of white outlines surrounding characters and objects.
Might be the cause of Mysterious Mist, a distinctive mist present during an otherworldly scene to emphasize something important. It frequently accompanies Gray Rain of Depression.
Compare and contrast Natural Spotlight, when importance is conveyed by a glow from sunlight. Contrast Cue the Rain, when a situation going From Bad to Worse is signaled by it starting to rain.
Examples:
Anime & Manga
- Dual! Parallel Trouble Adventure: The "D digging in the dump" scene.
- Kamichama Karin: The scene when Himeka and Kazuno walk under the rain while sharing an umbrella is accompanied by dense, white fog.
- Negima! Magister Negi Magi: During Sayo's flashback episode.
- One Piece:
- One of Haredas' attacks is a rain sphere. Makes sense because he's a metereologist.
- Click here
◊ for an example from the anime.
- Puella Magi Madoka Magica: In "The Only Thing I Have Left to Guide Me". Miki Sayaka's funeral is held under the rain, with an off-screen character narrating the details of her disappearance and death. As the camera pans out to a shot of the city, a white fog over the ground can be seen. It has to be noted, though, that there's no such thing when the camera is closing up in the characters and funeral scenery.
- Sailor Moon: Played for Drama when Usagi's love interest walks away from her with his umbrella, poignantly averting Together Umbrella.
- Str.A.In.: Strategic Armored Infantry: Seen in a flashback to James and Annie's funeral.
- Sumomo Mo Momo Mo: Momoko, episode 13.
- Yotsuba&!: Used whenever it rains, most prominently in "Yotsuba & Heavy Rain" (Chapter 7) and "Yotsuba & Typhoons" (Chapter 52). The gap between the two is a nice example of the series' Art Evolution; the effect is much more convincing in the latter chapter.
Fan Works
- My Superhero Academy Foreign Exchange: In "Liv v. Leon", this phenomenon is described as the 'white mist of disturbed water rained down'.
Films — Animation
- Flavors of Youth: The rain that accompanies Xiao Ming's contemplative narration as a young adult living in Beijing causes the city's sidewalks and roads to exude a faint greyish glow.
- Voices of a Distant Star: The trailer has an overall melancholic feeling produced by the tender scenes between Mikako and Noboru, the beautiful piano soundtrack, and the lightning. At one point, after a Tracer mecha is seen going away to space, a brief shot of rain falling on a pond and producing a white mist is shown. It represents both characters' sadness over Mikako having had to leave each other behind.
Literature
- Crónicas de un gato a medianoche: Poignantly subverted in "Cuerda floja"translation. The character notes that being so high above the city means that the light rain soaking her doesn't produce mist (which is a metaphor for her past suffering) but a breathtaking myriad of colors.
"And the mist. The mist has disappeared as if the altitude scared it away. As if up here, it was no longer able to numb my mind. As if it could torture me no more."
Theatre
- Les Misérables: This is simulated using a fog machine for the song "On My Own", in which Eponine sings about how the rain makes the pavement look like silver.
Video Games
- Plants vs. Zombies: In the Fog levels, a white Fog of War invades your lawn. It's much more pervasive in the last level; the full-on rainstorm obscures the screen but, during the lightning flashes, you can see that the fog occupies all but the first two squares on the left.
Western Animation
- Teen Titans: The episode "Haunted" subtly gives away that Slade is not actually there because everyone but him is covered by a faint, white aura.
- Winx Club: While this trope is generally averted (e.g., 'The Mysterious Stone' and "Valtor's Box"), there's one instance where it happens. In "The Fall of Magix", the black water that spawns the Army of Decay comes from a black magic-generated storm. As the insectoid creatures that comprise the Army are getting formed for the first time, a grayish, dense fog forms. This too happens in the third special, Winx Club The Battle For Magix.
Real Life
- Go somewhere that's at once miserably hot and horridly humid. Stir in one (1) cloudburst. Observe the steam rising from the pavement. Repeat as necessary.
