User blog comment:Da1337wolf/Speculating Aura and Dust/@comment-4773581-20130824223350

Aura is unlike any energy we've seen in anime or movies? I've seen several energies like it, with Ki (also called Qi and Chi) being the most prominent, as well as the one that has the most similarities with it.

Seriously, it's in practically every not-super-realistic Martial Arts anime (and sometimes it still finds its way into those), and a number of not-MA-based fighting animes. It's a pretty noticeable thing, so it's not hard to imagine that they drew a lot of inspiration from it when creating Aura.