History Main / PitbullDatesPuppy

Contrast BestHerToBedHer. Also see TrueLoveIsExceptional for when a similar OppositesAttract dynamic actually works out, and {{Aggressive Submissive}} when the relationship works like this most of the time, until the time they actually have sex, when suddenly their roles get inverted. Compare BeastAndBeauty, MasculineGirlFeminineBoy, and BroodingBoyGentleGirl.

* Gajeel and Levy from ''Manga/FairyTail''. Gajeel is a rough and violent BloodKnight literally MadeOfIron and Levy is a short, sweet and friendly CuteBookworm, though don't assume [[{{Tsundere}} she can't get violent herself when Gajeel pushes her buttons]].

* In ''Manga/MonthlyGirlsNozakiKun'', careless troublemaker Seo is [[ImpliedLoveInterest curiously fond of]] her good-natured underclassman Wakamatsu. PlayedWith in that Waka wants to make Seo feel bad so she won't bother him anymore, but fails in ways that make him look like he's invested in their relationship.

* In ''ComicBook/KillerCondom'', [[TheBear bear]] Bob "Bladder" and Plumley, a normal sized mature man who manages to look quite like a puppy next to the [[CarpetOfVirility incredibly hairy]] mountain of meat, Bob.

** ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'': Asuka is a very aggressive, hot-headed woman and Shinji is a non-confrontational, quiet, shy man. Asuka always claimed she wanted to someone confident, determined and muscular and she was not interested in scrawny boys. Still she fell in love with Shinji and after seducing him they are unable to live without each other.
** In ''Fanfic/GhostsOfEvangelion'', Asuka is bold, aggressive, and she can get nasty and mean when she's in a bad mood. Shinji is more passive and acquiescent. If someone asks him why they are together, he answers that he owes her, he doesn't really mind her bad moods, she is real nice when she wants (and she doesn't mean most bad things she says), and she actually wants him to be assertive and stand up for himself.

** ''Fanfic/LastChildOfKrypton'': Despite of her abrasive, bold nature, Asuka could not help to be drawn to quiet, non-belligerent, unasuming, polite Shinji. And it was Shinji's kind nature that allowed him seeing she was a better, kinder person than she thought she was despite her aggressive, forward behaviour, and falling in love with her. Subverted when she discovered he was ''Franchise/{{Superman}}''.
** ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'': Asuka is fiery, hot-blooded, aggressive, hard-headed, impatient... and she is ''Comicbook/{{Supergirl}}''. Shinji is a NonActionGuy passive, quiet and meek. However, Shinji fell in love with Asuka precisely because he admired her strength, willpower, courage and determination, and Asuka fell in love with him precisely because he was gentle, caring and dependable.
** The other ''Fanfic/SuperwomenOfEva'' stories involving Shinji are this, because all of the other titular action girls are incredibly destructive in battle and Shinji is only useful in combat if he's in an Evangelion, cementing his role as TheHeart (in ''Fanfic/SOEEmeraldFury'', it's even an important plot point that he's TheKidWithTheLeash to ''the freaking ComicBook/SheHulk''). The odd story out is ''Fanfic/SOESpirit'', a Hikari/Toji pairing, and even then it's obvious that Hikari is SilkHidingSteel and Toji is highly {{Adorkable}} when dealing with the UST.
** Subverted in ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji''. At first sight, Asuka seems to be the pitbull to Shinji's puppy because she is brash, loud and demanding, whereas Shinji is quieter... But in reality Shinji is the pitbull. A conniving, crafty, manipulative pitbull.

** ''Fanfic/TheSecondTry'' subverted it. Everyone thinks Shinji and Asuka's relationship is this because Shinji is wimpy and meek and Asuka is harsh and aggressive. [[PeggySue In reality their relationship got over that phase several years ago, but they pretend otherwise in order to keep their time-travelling status secret.]]

** ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'': Since Asuka is abrasive, loud and temperamental and Shinji is quiet, calm and non-confrontational, most of their acquaintances consider that they have this kind of relationship. Touji and Kensuke think their "poor" friend Shinji needs to be saved from the "Demon Red", and Misato doesn't get how Shinji appears to be utterly, impossibly immune to everything Asuka throws at him in her standard attempts to push him away.

* ''Series/{{House}}'' has two doctors who date in season 4 and tried to keep their relationship secret. The pitbull is Amber whose nickname is "Cutthroat Bitch" and the puppy is Wilson, a rather sweet sensitive guy. Part of the arc of their relationship was her trying to teach him to stand up for himself, even to her. Their relationship lasted for half a season. [[spoiler:She died in season finale.]]

* Darlene and David's relationship on ''Series/{{Roseanne}}''. Darlene is a somewhat aggressive snarker, and David's terrible homelife has left him completely downtrodden.

* In ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'', Arnold is an all around nice guy who always likes to help with people's problems; and while Helga Pataki fell [[StalkerWithACrush obsessively in love with him]] for that reason, her usual demeanor is that of a violent and hard-nosed school bully. [[spoiler: By the end of The Jungle Movie, they become an OfficialCouple]].

[[quoteright:350:[[Disney/WreckItRalph https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b5972311_603b_4330_9267_8f178f8dbca1.png]]]]

* In ''Disney/WreckItRalph'', the short, sweet, and NiceGuy Fix-It Felix Jr. gets paired up with grizzled ActionGirl SpaceMarine Tamora Calhoun.

[[quoteright:350:[[Disney/WreckItRalph https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/felix_x_calhoun.png]]]]

* Janet Barch and Timothy O'Neill on ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}''. A [[DoesNotLikeMen man-hating]] divorcee and borderline StrawFeminist falls for and dates [[spoiler: (and eventually marries)]] a shy, neurotic, utterly inoffensive HippieTeacher after O'Neill gives her an impromptu therapy session about venting her feelings over being divorced.

* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': Katniss and Peeta. While neither of them is a trained warrior, Katniss was taught archery by her father, and regularly hunts for the family. Peeta is the baker's son from her village. His skills are cake-decoration and talking to people. There is a love-triangle with Katniss childhood friend Gale. [[spoiler: Which is resolved when Katniss decides to be with Peeta, who is a better match because he's so gentle and nice, just what cynical Katniss needs.]]

** The Principal who is a SternTeacher and HeroicComedicSociopath has a fragile flower of a wife

* ''Series/AllyMcBeal'': John Cage, nicknamed "Biscuit", is a sensitive dorky lawyer who dates a gorgeous but icy Nelle Porter (nicknamed "Sub-zero") in season 2 and 3. Their relationship is quite happy and Nelle gets a bit warmer, but they later break up.

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[[quoteright:350:[[Disney/WreckItRalph https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/felix_x_calhoun.jpg]]]]

* ComicBook/TheJoker and Harley Quinn's relationship. True, Harley is psychotic and destructive like Joker, but is still much more innocent. Their relationship is usually Joker abusing Harley, though it's occasionally implied that [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther he does actually care about her.]]

** The Principal who is a SternTeacher and HeroicComedicSociopath has a FragileFlower of a wife

** The other ''Fanfic/SuperwomenOfEva'' stories involving Shinji are this, because all of the other titular action girls are incredibly destructive in battle and Shinji is only useful in combat if he's in an Evangelion, cementing his role as TheHeart (in ''Fanfic/SOEEmeraldFury'', it's even an important plot point that he's TheKidWithTheLeast to ''the freaking ComicBook/SheHulk''). The odd story out is ''Fanfic/SOESpirit'', a Hikari/Toji pairing, and even then it's obvious that Hikari is SilkHidingSteel and Toji is highly {{Adorkable}} when dealing with the UST.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': At heart, Shinji and Asuka truly care about and are attracted to each other, but Shinji's extreme passivity and Asuka's similarly over-the-top aggressiveness prevent them from forming a real relationship during the series.

** Alpha Bitch Quinn follows this up when she starts dating dorky but cute nerd Sam Evans.

* ''Franchise/MetalGear'':

* SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker and Harley Quinn's relationship. True, Harley is psychotic and destructive like Joker, but is still much more innocent. Their relationship is usually Joker abusing Harley, though it's occasionally implied that [[AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther he does actually care about her.]]

* Gajeel and Levy from ''Manga/FairyTail''. Gajeel is a rough and violent BloodKnight literally MadeOfIron and Levy is a short, sweet and friendly CuteBookworm.

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

Contrast BestHerToBedHer. Also see TrueLoveIsExceptional for when a similar OppositesAttract dynamic actually works out, and {{Aggressive Submissive}} when the relationship works like this most of the time, until the time they actually have sex, when suddenly their roles get inverted. Compare BeastAndBeauty and MasculineGirlFeminineBoy.

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* ''WesternAnimation/WallE'' has its titular character and EVE. WALL•E is TheWoobie and a very sweet, caring robot who only wants someone to love after spending hundreds of years alone, while his love interest EVE is a tough ActionGirl prone to blowing things up with her plasma cannon at the slightest provocation.

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--> '''Jack:''' Mildred I like you but...I think you might be...
--> ''turns and runs away''
--> '''Jack:''' A dangerous nutter!!
--> '''Mildred:''' AND?
--> '''TheRant:''' Mildred and Jack: star-crossed lovers or a fox and a chicken? I'm really not sure. I don't think they're sure either.

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** ''Fanfic/{{HERZ}}'': Kurumi often wondered why Shinji �a quiet, unassuming guy- married a fiery woman as Asuka. In reality Shinji and Asuka need each other desperately and they think no one else will ever be able to understand their pain.

%% * Leigh Ann and Sean Tuohy from ''TheBlindSide.'' However, in contrast to many examples of this trope, their relationship is happy and healthy.

** ''Fanfic/NeonGenesisEvangelionGenocide'': Shinji and Asuka's relationship is pretty difficult and complex since Asuka is very abrasive and bitter due to crappy childhood and deep trauma, and Shinji is somewhat wimpy. Nonetheless, it gets better when Shinji makes a serious effort to support and help Asuka, and she mellows down when she acknowledges that he cares about her.

Contrast BestHerToBedHer. Also see TrueLoveIsExceptional for when a similar OppositesAttract dynamic actually works out, and {{Aggressive Submissive}} when the relationship works like this most of the time, until the time they actually have sex, when suddenly their roles get inverted. Compare BeastAndBeauty.