This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Just wanted to point out, this occurs in real life. Including the "ore" variation.
Ununnilium: Does Motoko from Love Hina count?
Lale: Where does the trope name come from?
Binaroid: Ununnilium — I'd say no, since she's more of a Kid Samurai crossed with The Ojou by way of Tsundere. Lale — "Boku"-(k)ko, or roughly "girl who says boku".
Lale: I thought "boku" was part of it- didn't know the rest. Thanks.
Grev: Ok, then, what's the difference between this and a Shorttank?
Seth: I cant see one, they look like the same character type but with different names.
Binaroid: I think the main difference is that the Bokukko uses more masculine behaviors (machismo, for instance) and speech patterns, and is visibly uncomfortable with stereotypical feminine behavior. The Shorttank can behave this way, too, but that trope covers more ground.
Seth: They seem the same trope, this one just covers the use of the boku honorific and has a japanese name. The examples on Shorttank look almost the same.
I've heard this sort of thing in connection with a short declarative sentence in Japanese: "Ore wa ONNA da!" I've heard that one from Kei in the Dirty Pair anime, and also (I think, it's been a while) from Ukyo in Ranma 1/2. It translates approximately to "I (masculine tough-guy pronoun) am a WOMAN!" Would that be a better label for this? It seems to me that it gets to the point and illustrates a frequent punchline that arises near these types of characters. On the other hand, the Japanese makes it non-obvious, so...?
Ununnilium: That line's used by a wider variety of masculine girls, though.
As for the difference, it seems like a shorttank is a certain version of the bokukko, defined by wardrobe, by role in the series, and by the fact that she appears mostly in Shōnen series.
Seth: I still think we should pick a title *Cough*Shorttank*cough* and merge.
Susan Davis: They're not the same thing. Not all bokko are shorttanks (especially the particularly Moe Moe kind), and to a certain extent vice versa, although it's a common feature for a shorttank. Ayu is definitely not a shorttank, nor is Makoto (Jupiter)... and Yun *definitely* isn't.
P2: An example of bokko - Souseiseki from Rozen Maiden; an example of shorttank - Natsumi from Keroro. While both can be view as tomboyish, shorttank is definitely outgoing but bokko may not necessary to be. In another word, a shorttank has to be an energetic tomboy, a bokko does not. (Hope this makes sense.)
Anonymous: How did we get this far without mentioning Souseiseki from Rozen Maiden — whose Spoon Speech signature is using Boku, who dresses in shorts and a semi-masculine hat (despite being otherwise as covered in frills as the rest of the cast), and how affects a serious, tomboyish demeanor all the time?
Red Noah: Spotted a possible error: the example that cites Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. What Yuno recites, and Nanoha repeats, sounds more like "ware" (我) rather than "ore" (俺). The former is a gender neutral but unusual way of referring to oneself. Given that Yuno generally uses "boku" (僕) when talking normally, I suspect that the example is not valid.
Yet Another Unknown Troper: "In the movie, she's actually mistaken for a guy (despite her bright pink hair)"... wait, "despite"? How can her haircolour be the possible clue to her gender? She's an anime character. Pink hair are not Tertiary Sexual Characteristics unless Word of God said so and I just didn't know it. No one mistakes Mikage in the series for a girl.
Tatsuki uses 'atashi'. Does she really belong on the bokukko page? Not sure about Karin or Hiyori, though.
