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Bruiser with a Soft Center
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My beloved monster is tough
If she wants she will disrobe you
But if you lay her down for a kiss
Her little heart it could explode
- Eels, "My Beloved Monster"
who is nothing but a stack of muscles is pretty much a brick, right? Not so much. True love or a sweet, touching moment reveals what a big softy he really is under all that hard muscle. Hands that can smash through walls effortlessly now rise to hide the Tender Tears, or remain stoically at his sides as he weeps Manly Tears.
Thugs will limp away nursing cuts and bruises from his mighty fists. Children and small cuddly animals will simply treat his great ham hands like cozy furniture to snuggle up in. Enemies will flee from his mighty roar or battle cry. But he will sit still and quiet if a kitten curls up on his chest purring, and he'll let her stay as long as she pleases.
Some of the bruisers have no embarrassment at having a soft center, but others will instantly try to cover it up; or matter-of-factly inform their companions that "if you tell anyone this happened, I'll deny it"; still others will ensure the silence of those who witnessed their soft heart showing with threats.
While this trope tends to trend mostly male, females are not exempt from being bruisers with soft centers.
This is a trope with a lot of neighbours: Compare with Gentle Giant, Genius Bruiser, Real Men Wear Pink, Morality Pet, and Jerk with a Heart of Gold. Even a Papa Wolf can turn soft when he's around his children. Super Trope of Emotional Bruiser .
Examples:
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Anime and Manga
- Kuwabara from Yuyu Hakusho is willing to do anything for Eiikichi... his kitten.
- Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star is not afraid to hug children and shed Manly Tears (or even Tender Tears) from time to time.
- This actually becomes a plot point near the end of the main story, as Hokuto Shinken's ultimate technique, Musou Tensei, can only be used by those who know sadness, which in the story is tied to love.
- Raou attempted to take a shortcut on that — thus letting him stay a "Bruiser with a Hard Center" — by killing the woman that Kenshirou loved, intending for the act to impart knowledge of sadness and love onto him. Thank gosh he was interrupted by her coughing.
- Finding out that Yuria is dying BECAME the shortcut.
- Though not explicitly stated, this was pretty much why Yuria loved Kenshirou over Shin and Raou in the first place.
- Buccaneer of Fullmetal Alchemist is a tall and burly guy with a chainsaw arm, but in one notable scene from the manga/Brotherhood anime, gets Cuteness Proximity when Winry starts squeeing over his automail and acts gently toward her. Then he punches Ed out of jealousy.
- Yasutora "Chad" Sado from Bleach. The Big Guy from Ichigo's Five-Man Band, with fearsome Super Strength (and a penchant for lying in a pool of his blood). A sweet Gentle Giant who loves cute things and wouldn't hurt a fly if he can help it.
- Trowa Barton from Gundam Wing is a Genius Bruiser, excellent acrobat and master spy, as well as a thoughtful Sugar and Ice Personality and one lube away from being Yaoi Guys with Quatre Raberba Winner.
- Heiwajima Shizuo in Durarara!! is universally accepted as the strongest man in Ikebukuro, described at one point as "violence in human form," but he's actually a quiet sort who dislikes violence and hates his own hair-trigger temper, and doesn't want to hurt anyone (except for Izaya).
- Edward Newgate, aka Whitebeard from One Piece. An absolutely enormous man of incredible power and impossible toughness. When he is stabbed by a turncoat subordinate, he looks for a moment like he's about to reach out with his massive hands and rip the man apart. Instead, he kneels down and gives a tender hug to the much smaller man, and gives a tearful hug, forgiving him for his foolishness.
- Gian from Doraemon, pretty much in its movies
- Sha Gojyo from Saiyuki. Foul-mouthed, skirt-chasing, iron-pumping bundle of muscle and bravado who is an absolute pushover for lost kittens, frightened kids having been an abused child himself , and women with hard-luck stories. It's stated that women in tears remind him of his stepmother, but beyond that, he's just a kind-hearted guy.
- Uozumi Jun from Slam Dunk. He may be a hot-blooded trash talker on the court, but he breaks into tears when he realizes he can't play basketball with his team anymore.
- Pokémon: Dawn's Mamoswine in the "Diamond and Pearl" anime series is all about this once he reaches his final stage. He acts all gruff, ignores his trainer for a while, and becomes The Berserker when angered (or when Dawn denies him/is short on poffins). Yet he's definitely caring and protective towards his trainer and friends (especially after mellowing out), becomes putty whenever food is in question, and steadily shows fascination with Contests. Yet true to being of the emotionally repressed variety, he tries (initially) to deny all this.
- Moss from Ginga Nagareboshi Gin. Despite being the heaviest and most powerful dog in his pack, he's a Gentle Giant when it came to puppies.
- Sentaro of Sakamichi No Apollon At first he may come off as a high schooler that likes to beat up bullies. It's so that he can protect those that're dear to him.
Comic Books
- The Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Thing of Fantastic Four fame is very gentle and delicate with his love, Alicia.
- The Thing is also like this to practically every kid that thinks he's the coolest hero.
- Especially with kids who think he's cooler than the Human Torch.
- The Thing also has a special place in the Marvel superhero community as possibly the most widely befriended hero ever, much like Superman or Nightwing from DC.
- We have Marv, from Sin City, whose entire story gets kicked off when a hooker showed him some love and kindness and gets murdered, causing him to go on a quest of revenge. This man can snap you in half with his bare hands.
- Archie Comics: Moose, with Midge.
- Massive Colossus from X-Men is a sensitive artist.
- Beast frequently quotes poetry and literature, and is a very kind and warm man.
- Arguably, even Wolverine displays this trait at times, especially around his surrogate daughters Kitty Pryde and Jubilee.
- The Incredible Hulk has been known to cuddle kittens and bunnies, and as seen in the page image, is also good with other animals and children, Depending on the Writer.
- Lampshaded by Huntress in the 2010 Birds of Prey comic. "Just don't expect the marshmallow center."
- Superman. Possibly the most sensitive and emotive mainstream hero out there, despite being the definitive brick. This is often contrasted with the more Proud Warrior Race Guy personality of Wonder Woman, the only other Justice League member who is as strong as he is.
- Strong Guy of X-Factor - in a session with Doc Samson he reveals that his wit and banter are how he copes with tremendous, constant pain, both emotional and physical.
Film
- Vlad the brawny vulture from Horton Hears a Who! is tough and evil. It's not true love in his case that brings on the tears; it's being touched by Horton's noble defense of the Whos and his forgiveness of the Sour Kangaroo.
- Big blue scaremaster Sully of Monsters, Inc. has a soft spot for Boo, falling in love with her when most of his kind have been taught to regard small children with terror.
- Arguably, it's the point of the titular company's tagline: "We scare because we care". They don't have anything against the kids*
except for the Propaganda Machine teaching them that kids are virulently poisonous and you should touch as little as possible while you're in their rooms
- Robert "Bob" Parr aka Mr. Incredible is tough as nails against anything Syndrome can throw at him except the possibility of losing his family. The mere thought reduces him to being barely able to speak.
- Sonny from The Godfather, despite being known for his explosive temper, is a loving if unfaithful husband and father who cares about his family and friends deeply.
- Godzilla. Big, powerful, city-destroying monster and a loving and very protective father. In fact, it's the death of his son that causes the normally tough-as-nails Godzilla to mourn in grief.
- And, of course, there's the "Friend To All Children" himself, Gamera.
- Hellboy: a massive red demon with a huge stone hand prophecised to bring armageddon... a big softie who absolutely loves kittens and will fight monsters to protect them.
- TRON is a very sweet guy, despite being the biggest Badass in Cyberspace. He is visibly shaken and upset when he thinks that Flynn and Ram were killed, and hangs his head sadly when informed He Didn't Make It. With an urgent call from Alan at stake, what does he do? He goes to find and free Yori (and if you factor in that Deleted Scene, have a "private" moment back at her home). In the sequel? Twenty years of brainwashing is overridden with The Power of Friendship. And his Kingdom Hearts version celebrated the team's victory with hugs all around.
Literature
- Lenny from Of Mice And Men is an inversion. Mostly soft spot and a bruiser who doesn't know his own strength to the point he kills the animals he cherishes.
- Bruce from the CHERUB Series; although he seems to be a hardcore martial arts fan with a thing for blood and gore, he still goes to bed with his little blue teddy.
- Great, lumbering Rubeus Hagrid from Harry Potter is more soft spot than bruiser unless you make him mad, in which case the ratio switches over.
- In Oz, no one fits this like Nick "the Tin Man" Chopper. He was cursed to become tin because he was determined to earn enough money to support his fiancee and get her away from the Wicked Witch. He rusted himself crying over crushing an innocent insect. Threaten harm to an innocent or to one of his True Companions? The axe comes out, and he becomes the scariest fighter in the land.
Live Action TV
- John Casey from Chuck. We've had Flash Backs with some of his past.
- D'Argo from Farscape. He generally has two moods, angry and weepy.
- Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer immediately establishes himself as this. He comes crashing into town with a bad reputation and a badass flair, shows up at the lair of the Annointed One offering to kill the Slayer... then looks on with concern and goes to wait on his Ill Girl girlfriend when she tries to come in with him.
- Coach Shannon Beiste from Glee is a rare female example.
- Dean Winchester from Supernatural. He may swear like a sailor, go hard on the liquor and sex, and be able to take on monsters and psychos with little problem, but he's got a soft spot for kids, his family, and Castiel.
- Like his tin counterpart, Wyatt Cain from TinMan crosses this with Heartbroken Badass. The man is a scary-good fighter both in hand to hand and with his pistol, but his cold facade breaks down in a hurry when asked to do the honorable thing, or when he senses someone needs protection. At the end, he is almost on the verge of tears warning DG that she will have to face her sister alone.
Newspaper Comics
- Seth from 9ChickweedLane is a ballet dancer who looks like a linebacker but is a low key gay man and a hopeless romantic who went to some effort to get Edda and Amos together.
Video Games
Web Comics
- Rayne from Least I Could Do is an inversion. He was a scrawny teenager who got his heart broken, and is now a big brawny man-slut who doesn't seem inclined to seek true love anymore.
Western Animation
Real Life
- Chuck Norris.
- By all accounts, Ernest Hemingway. According to Papa Hemingway, when he was still a struggling writer in Paris, he would sit alone for hours and cry over rejection letters.
- Considering the fragile ego of some writers (at the best of times) and the fact the man was seriously depressed, eventually killed himself and could only shut up his inner editor with lots and lots of booze...well that actually isn't that surprising.
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