History ShrinkingViolet / AnimeAndManga

** And Canada, [[CanadaEh eh]]. No wonder he's also unlucky. In some works, even his eyes are purple.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':

** Major Alex Louis Armstrong’s little sister Catherine Elle Armstrong is as shy as they come . . . even though she can lift a piano with one hand.

** Mabagi is another example. While she is able to speak to others (unlike Komi), she's still a wallflower who doesn't have the courage to reach out on her own.

* Chrona and Tsubaki from ''Manga/SoulEater''. Tsubaki's Shrinking Violet tendencies make her quite possibly the ''only'' character who can handle being [[SmallNameBigEgo Black]]*[[LargeHam Star's]] partner.

** ''Anime/DeliciosuPartyPrettyCure'''s Kokone; underneath her cold exterior, she has a hard time opening up to others due to being neglected as a child.

* There's always one character in the ''Anime/PrettyCure'' franchise that's like this, but ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'''s Tsubomi takes the cake. Flashbacks show that she was so shy (due to poor self-confidence and accidental ParentalAbandonment), that [[InnocentFlowerGirl her only real friends were flowers]]. It wasn't until she moved into a new town, met major GenkiGirl Erika (and became a Precure) that Tsubomi started to come out of her shell. A major portion of the series, including a story arc, is about Tsubomi overcoming this.

* Maria Ortega in ''Manga/AoiHouse'', especially when it comes to her [[GagBoobs breast size.]]

* Ichigo Otohime of ''Manga/OmujoOmutsuJoshi'' has this as a major trait. She is so quiet and reserved that, when she develops hiccups in class, at least one person remarks that it's the first time they'd ever heard her voice. Unfortunately for Ichigo this trait, in combination with a weak bladder that gets worse when she becomes nervous, makes her prone to wetting herself and she wears diapers nearly all the time.

* The main character of ''LightNovel/WiegenliedOfGreen'' is this in the beginning and for much of the story, having been abused for years by the people in her town for having white hair. Her catchphrase is "I'm sorry for being alive".

%%* Misaki Etou from ''LightNovel/DragonCrisis''.

* ''LightNovel/MyNextLifeAsAVillainessAllRoutesLeadToDoom'':

* Jacuzzi Splot from ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'' is so horribly shy and scared of other people that he breaks down into tears just trying to ''introduce himself.''

* ''LightNovel/AnObservationLogOfMyFianceeWhoCallsHerselfAVillainess'': Bertia used to be this, but becoming more outgoing after her mother's death.

* Why else would Satou Tatsuhiro from ''Anime/WelcomeToTheNHK!'' be a hikikomori?

** In the ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' games, [[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Princess Shakti Kareen]] speaks to Tiffa and concludes that [[BreakTheCutie she went through so much shit in her life before being adopted by the Vultures]] that she developed a powerful phobia of people.

** Kaga Ai. Her entire character is apologizing profusely for being a bother - especially when she isn't. She apologizes for being born.

** This was [[{{Meganekko}} Nina Einstein's]] original personality before [[LoveMakesYouEvil she went]] [[PsychoLesbian all crazy]] [[spoiler: after the death of her idol and crush, Euphemia.]].

** In the VideoGame/SuperRobotWars games, [[Anime/MobileSuitVictoryGundam Princess Shakti Kareen]] speaks to Tiffa and concludes that [[BreakTheCutie she went through so much shit in her life before being adopted by the Vultures]] that she developed a powerful phobia of people.

* ''LightNovel/ArifuretaFromCommonplaceToWorldsStrongest'': Due to the abuse she suffered from both her mother and her stepfather, Eri is very meek and shy. [[spoiler: At least in public - in private, she's a psychotic nutcase.]]

* Misaki Etou from ''LightNovel/DragonCrisis''.
* Nozomi and Mayu from ''Manga/ElfenLied''.
* ''LightNovel/FailureFrame'': Kashiba is shy and timid. Being dragged into a war in another world is not good for her well-being.

* Koyomi Hare Nanaka from the anime, ''Manga/GirlsBravo''.

* Nako from ''Anime/HanasakuIroha''.

* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'':

* Yurika of ''LightNovel/InvadersOfTheRokujyouma'' starts out as a deeply insecure girl, which affects her magic. Her CharacterDevelopment involves her overcoming this.

* Yumi Fukuzawa, the protagonist of ''LightNovel/MariaWatchesOverUs'', has a serious lack of self-confidence. This is particularly evident in the second season.[[spoiler: she gets a lot better in the fourth season]]

** And once again with Natsumi Murakami. Despite being an actor in the drama club, she shies away from attention, blushes and stutters when her crush Kotaro is around, and has all but nonexistent self-esteem, partly from being constantly surrounded by women far more [[ACupAngst developed than herself]] (especially her roommates, who are also [[{{Fiction 500}} insanely wealthy]]). She's confirmed to be self-hating when her dislikes include people with red hair and freckles (like her), and she often removes herself from important situations with the excuse that she isn't important enough to be there. Finally, and most telling of all, [[spoiler: her artifact turns out to be [[GameBreaker a legendary-level item]] capable of [[InvisibilityCloak completely erasing her presence from other people's perceptions]]]] - she is ''fated'' by the power of magic to be a Shrinking Violet.

** Kiri Komori.

* Kazumi Yoshida from ''LightNovel/ShakuganNoShana''.

* Sylphiel Nels Lahda from ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'', is excessively polite, demure, and at times unable to speak for herself, sharply contrasting the main four characters, all who are either more outgoing ([[ThePollyanna Amelia]] and [[NiceGuy Gourry]]), downright boisterous and selfish (Lina), or bitter and occasionally cruel ([[{{Jerkass}} Zelgadis]]).

* Both Aya and Kozue from ''Manga/StrawberryOneHundredPercent''.
* Chiyo from ''LightNovel/StrawberryPanic''.

* Most of what drives the plot in ''LightNovel/{{Toradora}}'' is Ryuji's and Taiga's bad cases of this when dealing with their respective crushes in Minori and Yuusaku. Ryuji is able to ''barely'' hold a conversation with Minori and actually improves well enough as time goes on. Taiga, however, has many more golden opportunities to hit it off with Yuusaku, but she becomes a speechless blushing mess and usually screws up, much to her chagrin.
* Alessandro of ''LightNovel/TrinityBlood'' also qualifies; he is shy and soft-spoken, and has a phobia of loud noises.

** Sae also qualifies.

* ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'':
** Nagisa Furukawa. Tomoya tries to get her to open up more. During at least one other route, he knows she falls directly into this and reacts accordingly. For example, he knows she won't scare Kotomi.
** Ryou Fujibayashi. [[PolarOppositeTwins In contrast to her rather headstrong twin sister Kyou]], she is often rather shy and mellow, which makes her role as ClassRepresentative more difficult.
** Kotomi Ichinose. Especially at first, since she's very withdrawn and reluctant to make friends. She gradually becomes more sociable over time.

* IllGirl Misao in the ''Anime/PrettySammy'' series. It brings quite a contrast to her alter ego of Pixy Misa, a gleefully over the top CardCarryingVillain.

** Yuu, Kuro's IllGirl older sister, from Achiga-hen. She becomes quite nervous when she sees her sister has brought two guests over, one of whom she knows fairly well, and says that she had considered joining the mahjong club to be with her sister, but felt as though she could not do so. She's also perfectly fine with her friend [[TheReliableOne Arata]] being chosen as ClubPresident despite Arata being a second year and Yuu being a third year, since it means she won't have to get up on a stage to draw a lot for the mahjong tournament.

** Japan, ''[[UpToEleven especially]]'' during his isolationist days (to the point of becoming a {{Hikikomori}}). Even in the present, he often has great difficulty adjusting to different people and social situations.

** In ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY'' and ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'', Ash is shown to have two AlternateUniverse counterparts who act like this in contrast to his usual StockShonenHero personality. Both are meek, reserved, and ProneToTears. The only real difference between the two is that MirrorUniverse Ash in ''XY'' is a less competent battler with friends, while BizarroUniverse Ash in ''Journeys'' was a loner with a strong team before Goh introduced him to Alternate!Goh & Chloe.

** In ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY'' and ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'', Ash is shown to have two AlternateUniverse counterparts who act like this in contrast to his usual StockShonenHero personality. Both are meek, reserved, and ProneToTears. The only real difference between the two is that MirrorUniverse Ash in ''XY'' is a less competent battler with friends, while BizarroUniverse Ash in ''Journeys'' is a loner with a strong team.

* Toren from ''Anime/PokemonThePowerOfUs'' is a male example of this trope who is not played [[ButtMonkey completely as comedic relief]]. He avoids people when possible, choosing instead to spend time with his beloved Pokémon, and [[SpeechImpediment stammers]] a lot, especially when in front of an audience. His timid disposition may be linked to a [[AbusiveParents dark past]], as he flinches whenever an authority figure uses an angry tone with him, as if expecting to be beaten.

** Latvia. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/heta-twitch.gif So much that it's scary]]. Total ChewToy.

** Rinne from ''Anime/VividStrike'' used to be one of these, up until a certain... [[TheDogBitesBack incident]]. Ever since then, she's been cold and aloof, though her calling Fuka by her AffectionateNickname while alone in her room (despite their falling out a year earlier) hints that her original personality is still there ([[spoiler:she's deliberately hiding it to avoid being viewed as "weak"]]).

** [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Hinata_Hyuuga_shrinking_violent_3955.png Hinata Hyuuga]] because of the damage [[ParentalAbandonment her ultra-strict father's]] family did to her self-esteem, as well as her [[FanOfUnderdog huge crush on Naruto]]. When she first saw Naruto after nearly three years she ''fainted'', [[AdaptationExpansion twice in the anime]]. When said guy is in trouble, however, ''[[NotAfraidToDie she is ready to die for him]]''. She does [[CharacterDevelopment gradually outgrow her shyness]] in [[TimeSkip Part II]]; she's still quiet and soft-spoken, but she's also much more confident in herself and her abilities.

* Misaki from ''Manga/HanaNoMizoShiru'' initially comes across as a fairly standard {{Tsundere}} character, but seems to fit this trope in later chapters. From Chapter 6 and onwards his sad backstory and resulting insecurities are revealed in pieces, and he increasingly comes across as more shy and self-conscious. And he fit the "quiet" and "friendless" aspects of the trope all along.

** Sophia was rather shy as a child, due to her history of being bullied. Like in Mary's case, she mostly grew out of this, but she is still the most demure member of the cast. She's even worse in the ''On the Verge of Darkness'' spin-off, as a result of having been isolated longer.

* ''LightNovel/ReijouWaMattariWoGoshomou'': Being abused, mentally and physically, by her family has led to Ronia not talking back when confronted. This leads to her expulsion and broken engagement, as she doesn't refute the accusations against her strongly enough.

* Mahiru Inami from ''Manga/{{Working}}'' is terrified of men. Usually, she simply hides behind corners, stammers, and tries not to look at them. When surprised, however, her first instinct is to scream and [[MegatonPunch punch them]] [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom across the room]]. She also has incredible strength, since her father has been secretly weight training her for years by putting iron plates in her backpack.

** Momoko, so much that she gained the ability to [[{{Invisibility}} disappear from sight]], though her [[SchoolgirlLesbians relationship with Yumi]] has been helping her get out of her shell more.

* ''LightNovel/JishouAkuyakuReijouNaKonyakushaNoKansatsuKiroku'': Bertia used to be this, but becoming more outgoing after her mother's death.