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"All the world will be your enemy, O Prince with a Thousand Enemies.
And if they catch you, they will kill you.
But first, they must catch you."
- Frith, Watership Down.

"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee,
Your hands can't hit what your eyes can't see.
Rumble, young man, rumble."
- Muhammad Ali

One of the classic video game character builds, along with the Mighty Glacier and The Mario.

The name about sums it up: the Fragile Speedster is fast. If you blink, he's not there anymore. He appears, strikes, and vanishes in the blink of an eye. Nine times out of ten, his occupation is thief or ninja.

Still, being fast has its downsides - strength and toughness. You usually deal half as much damage with a Fragile Speedster as you do with a normal character, and it's three punches before they're out.

See also: Competitive Balance, PVP Balanced and Glass Cannon (which trades resilience for hitting power, and often overlaps).

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Examples:

• Chun-Li from Street Fighter. Cammy joins in here too, although the epitome of speed remains Vega (Balrog in Japan), and Guy is also a strong contender. The latter two are both male.
• The entire female line-up from Tekken since the beginning of the series
  • This troper would argue that while Tekken upholds the trope for the most part, a few females vary slightly, with Christie being more of a Glass Cannon, while Julia is a little more balanced than most females. Additionally, males aren't exempt from this trope, most notably Lee Chaolan.
• Chipp Zanuff, Jam Kuradoberi and Millia Rage from Guilty Gear
• Pikachu and Fox in Super Smash Bros, and Falco, Marth, Pichu, and Sheik (who can also turn into a Mighty Glacier) as well in Super Smash Bros Melee. Mewtwo and Peach hover near here - they aren't exactly speedy, but generally more maneouvrable...and ejectable. Sonic is so fast that he's Too Fast To Stop.
• Name a thief or ninja from a Role Playing Game. Even in Dungeons And Dragons, the related character classes emphasize Dexterity (speed) over Strength or Constitution (toughness), though their sneak attack abilities often allow them to do huge amounts of damage.
  • This editor would argue that neither thief (rogue) nor ninja classes are "speedsters", but "sneakers", since they rely on hiding and stalking, not on running quickly. The new Scout class in d20 Dungeons And Dragons v3.5, however, is a mixture between ranger and rogue who gets such abilities as Shot on the Run, basically a sniper who has to move as part of his attacks.
  • This editor would suggest that the Monk is the Fragile Speedster in the game. They can get to being over twice as fast as another character, and (in 3.0, not 3.5) could rain punches faster than the fighters. But were stuck with a d8 hit die and no armour. Most descriptions of the monk in D&D supplements suggest its role is to speedily dash in and pound and retreat, instead of Rocky-style toe-to-toe fighting.
    • The monk can still rain punches faster than the fighters, and do more base damage with each one than any weapon in the game. However, he's less likely to hit... Also, three times as fast.
    • The monk was just...odd. With the right items a monk's AC can be insanely high (this could be said of any character, but...), but they have a d8 hit die...and then they're immune to poison and disease, magic resistant, can heal themselves, and eventually become resistant to non-magical weapons. They're a speedster, but hardly fragile, except in comparison to raging barbarians.
    • Those abilities aren't worth much; they amount to things you can get from cheap items, mostly. Certainly, monks aren't really suitable for going toe-to-toe with most monsters. However, due to poorly-thought-out design, they're not really an effective speedster, either; it's mostly an Informed Ability. In D&D, attacks are divided up into 'charge' (and 'standard') attacks you can make after moving, and 'full' attacks that take almost your entire turn. Obviously, charging is the speedster tactic, and full attacks should be the mighty glacier tactic... except that the monk's most important fighting abilities are unsuitable for charges, and function only with the static full attacks. Which, in turn, they're too fragile to use effectively...
  • The real fragile speedsters in D&D are the scout and the psychic warrior. The scout gets the ability to add extra damage if they attack after moving, while the psychic warrior gets abilities that let them perform multiple attacks after a charge, move multiple times in a turn, and more.
    • Except that the psychic warrior has a lot of buffs that can give him more hp, healing, damage reduction, energy resistance, and other defenses. On top of being able to wear heavy armor. The swordsage from the later Tome of Battle supplement is considerably more fragile but just as speedy.
• Sena from Eyeshield 21, at least in the beginning. He toughens up a bit over the course of the series, though just enough to play defense as well as offense.
• The Final Fantasy series offer us the Thief and Ninja classes, which embody this trope. Character examples include Yuffie, Zidane (interesting, as he is the main character), Rikku, and a few others.
  • It must, however, be noted that Zidane's Hit Points are second only to Steiner's for most of the game, making his Fragile Speedster status somewhat suspicious.
• Katt and Rei in the Breath Of Fire series.
• The Light class was one of the four classes in Gladius (along with Medium, Heavy and Animal) and fits the Fragile Speedster definition to a tee, even though its members can be male or female. They had a rock-paper-scissors advantage over Heavies.
• Hikaru, Athena, and most of the Angels in Angelic Layer; it's never explained why so many people choose to construct Angels this way, but possibly it's to emulate The Champion Athena.
  • Also possible is the fact that every heavyweight angel except for Shirahime looks absolutely hideous and unnatural. Case in point: Vasquez.
• Killer 7's Con Smith fits this trope to a T. He dual wields fully automatic pistols, can burn blood to run extremely fast, and has the least health of any member of the Smith Syndicate.
• Grant Danasty from Castlevania III fits this category fairly well; he's fast and can cling to surfaces, but also has a very weak weapon and takes more damage from enemy attacks than the main character.
• Several Pokemon can be put into this kind of classification, the most extreme example would be Ninjask. Having one of the highest speed ratings in the game, plus an ability to go even faster. Not surprising, has a very low defense and HP rating. It's also partly based on a ninja, surprise surprise.
• The Scout Class in Team Fortress/Team Fortress Classic/ is built around this concept, although its utility resides more with being a flag-catcher than in hit-and-run tactics. Another class, the Medic, is designed to run to provide healing and support fast, but also packs enough of a punch to actually attack people in the way of the flag, unlike the Scout.
  • The Scout Class in Team Fortress 2 is similar but more lethal. He's fragile, blindingly fast, double jumps, and captures command points twice as fast as any other class. However, he also has a double-barrel shotgun that can kill a Heavy at close range in 2-3 hits. Movement is his form of defense; he can still kill stuff if he is close enough and has good dodging skill.
  • The Pyro is somewhat fragile, pretty fast, and can melt a Heavy at point-blank range in about half a second.
    • However, with recent updates he has become more of a Mighty Glacier.
    • Don't you mean she?
  • The Medic Class in Team Fortress 2 also has some elements of the Fragile Speedster as well. Though he is fragile by nature, he is the second fastest class in the game. In addition to his healing Medigun, the Medic also carries a rather weak Flechette Launcher and a Bonesaw, which actually has twice the Critical Hit rate of all other melee weapons. So while he shouldn't be in the heat of battle as he folds rather easily, if you're forced into a really bad situation you can actually still manage to do some serious damage by Bonesawing the crap out of everyone in sight.
• Rodan, M.O.G.U.E.R.A., and Megaguirus in Godzilla: Save the Earth. Baragon and Gigan are an aversion of the usual Fragile Speedster rules - only the aforementioned daikaiju are faster, but they're quite damaging and reasonably durable; they instead sacrifice in other areas.
• Webcomic example: Robin, from It's Walky! and Shortpacked!, could probably create a sonic boom if she felt like it. She's only physically fragile compared to super-strong people like Sal or Beef, though, but her main vulnerability is her emotional and mental stability... Hence, still fragile, just in a different way.
• Quickman from Mega Man Battle Network 2 is a kind of subversion. His character design is all about speed, and he does dart around the battlefield in a blur - but in practice, his battle feels just like Knightman's from the same game (as well as the armored cannon viruses), but with more movement. Most attempts to hit him while he isn't attacking will result in the attack being blocked. The effect is represented by Quickman moving his hands quickly in front of him to deflect or disperse the attack, but it's clearly a case of "hit him when his shield is down".
• Pai from Virtua Fighter.
• In Fire Emblem games, the Thief has low hit points and low defense. His attack is mediocre and there's a good chance of seeing "No Damage" against an armored opponent. However, his crit hit chance is high, and he'll dodge more shots than he'll take.
  • The Myrmadon is a lesser version of this, focusing more on an insanely high crit hit chance and decent attack rate, and less on dodging (still one of the least hit characters)
    • Mercenaries are pretty close, as well. However, rather than evasion or critical hit rate, their weapon-carrying ability (how heavy of a weapon they can carry without a speed penalty) is rather high, since their swords are rather large (and they can carry it with one hand and do all sorts of acrobatic attacks with them.)
    • Pegasus Knights, and certain types of Magic Users also apply this trope.
• In the Monster Rancher games, the Rabbit and Fairie characters are extremely high dodge and quick movement. However they have low defense. Often fights against heavy defense enemies (like golems and knights) will run time out as the heavy can't hit the speedster, and the speedster can only deal minimal damage. This means the speedster is more likely to win, but it's a gamble, as chances are one hit will completely KO her.
• The Bene Gesserit and Honored Matres in the Dune saga fall into this category, with their defeats being brutally quick and, if length is an indication of "epicness", anticlimactic.
• If we're talking superhero speedsters, there's of course the Flash (DC Comics) in his various incarnations, Dash from The Incredibles, Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) from X-Men and X-Men Evolution, and the list goes on. They may be able to break the sound barrier or deliver punches at the speed of light, but if a Tank does manage to land a hit, they're usually out and down. This begs the question of how they can land a punch that fast and not break an arm or... everything. The Flash gets a technobabble-ish Hand Wave with the "Speed Force", which allows speedsters in DC to run at supersonic speeds without harming themselves, etc. Quicksilver's mutation seems to have worked its way around this as well, ensuring his safety at high speeds and such.
• The Lord Marshal in The Chronicles of Riddick (2004). Impressive and very fast, but relied too much on his supernatural quickness making him invulnerable... which in the end it didn't.
• Subverted in the MMORPG City Of Heroes and City Of Villains as any archetype, including the tough as nails Brutes and Tankers, can get superspeed powers if they wish.
• In the second Knights Of The Old Republic game, Mira fit this trope perfectly- in fact, her opposite number was also a prime example of the Mighty Glacier.
• Fate from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha whenever she uses her Sonic Form. It allows her to move at Super Speed at all times, but at the cost of defense. Her opponents always note that, in that form, one hit is all it'll take to kill her.
• How you tell the difference between Real Robots and Super Robots in Super Robot Wars, apart from the obvious stylistic traits and attacks. A Real Robot type will have circa 3000 HP and almost never get hit, taking their damage in the four digits when they actually take a shot, while Super Robots will top six or seven thousand and take their triple-digit shots like, if you'll excuse the expression, Real Men.
  • Exception: The Cybuster is considered one of the fastest mecha in Super Robot Wars, and if it's a Real Robot, this editor will eat his hat.
    • No one said the rule was absolute. Tekkaman Blade is outrageously fast, although in fairness, he's roughly human-sized. In any case, there are a lot more insanely fast Supers than tanktastic Reals, and not very many of either.
    • Also, the Cybuster is, while classified as a Super Robot, is more or less a mix of both Real and Super robot class specs, which is why some dub is as "the robot that doesn't know what it wants to be".
  • Pretty much any Small or Extra Small unit in Super Robot Wars falls under this trope - however, they also tend to be frighteningly powerful.
  • Getter Robo also is a fragile speedster. In comparison with other Supers, its armor is a bit lacking in most games. This liability is worked around with the Open Get and Getter Vision abilities.
• Given the prevalence of female characters in fighting games following this trope, King from King Of Fighters (a Muay Thai kickboxer), Blue Mary (a tough grappler), and Hinako (a powerful sumo wrestler) are notable aversions.
  • Another interesting example is Choi Bounge, who is the fastest character in the series and also an adult (if small) male character.
  • Sie Kensou and Bao of the Psycho Soldier team also qualify. Both are male.
  • And Chris, of the New Faces Team, as well as Benimaru Nikado. Again, male.
  • Possibly the quickest and most fragile is Malin, however.
• Just like Street Fighter II has Chun-Li, Fatal Fury has Mai Shiranui, who is even a ninja; but as new characters were introduced, male children characters (like the Jin brothers and Hokutomaru) became the best examples.
• In The Prince Of Tennis, Fudomine player Akira Kamio is known among players as an extremely fast runner. His stamina is variable; in the anime he's able to more-or-less follow and keep up with a guy on a bicycle, but in an actual doubles game he and his partner almost collapse out of exhaustation. It doesn't help that one of his opponents was Kenya Oshitari, an even faster runner without stamina problems.
• The Eldar of Warhammer 40000 are fast and fragile, but more specialised than weak: their unit are extremely effective in the right place. The Dark Eldar take the "jets-equipped glass cannon" idea even further than their less evil cousins - even faster, even more fragile and occasionally even more powerful. Both overlap strongly with Glass Cannon.
• For some characters in the Last Blade series, it's a matter of whwther you choose "speed" or "power". Several characters were just built for speed, however, including Old Master Okina, Genki Girl Akari (whose brother Juzoh is a Mighty Glacier), Mysterious Waif Hibiki, Troubled But Cute Bishounen Moriya, Stoic Ninja Zantetsu, and Half Identical Twin Kojiroh.
• Star Control likes this trope. Most of the smallest ships (and generally least expensive, though there are exceptions) can run circles around their larger counterparts, dodging incoming projectiles with impunity and generally falling apart after half a second of actually getting hit. Subverted with the Spathi Eluder; though one of the fastest things in known space period, it can take an impressive beating. Pays for it by only being able to do decent damage while running away. It also makes fighting every Slylandro probe you encounter worth the effort, since it's one of the few ships that can match its speed. Not to mention that if you position a Pkunk Fury at just the right distance from a Thraddash Torch, you can blow up the Torch in one hit without taking any damage.
• Sonicthe Hedgehog is probably one of the classics of this trope - he can race around like a wild thing, but just one or two lucky shots and he's outta there.
• Real Life Example: A magazine (named Shimbun) for This Troper's karate club once ran an article on different types of sparring individuals and how each one is likely to behave during kumite (that's a fighting match, for those not in the know). These catagories included stone types -heavy, strong, but slow- the Bruce Lee typic "water type" -fast and adaptable (many people think this is one of the best sparring types, though this is purely subjective) and the air type -extremely quick, landing multiple light punches at high speed. Many younger sparrers are of this type - and they're murder to spar against because they never stay still for so much as a second. The problem with air type kumite is of course, just as has been stated above - just a few exact punches is all it takes for them to be beaten (to their advantage they can move quickly, and it's a question of getting your punches in). People, to their credit, are a lot less destructable than videogame characters (which is also kind of a rare example of this trope being right).
• Skate/Sammy from Streets of Rage/Bare Knuckles

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