The girl next door is used to indicate what is seen as average and wholesome femininity. She is neither butch nor overtly feminine and not promiscuous but might be a foil to one who is like the down town girl in the Town Girls. Typically prettyin an accessibleway. However since it's essentially about her personality there are several that are considered knock-outs.
She's the kind of girl the male main character might have known and been friends with all his life. She's easy to talk to like a tomboy but she doesn't force her presence on anybody, or she keeps to herself like a Naïve Everygirl while not rejecting social interaction. Of course on the other hand the girl next door is every bad boy's fantasy because he is drawn to her "good girl" image since she has the goodness of the light feminine in Light Feminine and Dark Feminine. Not only is she good but she doesn't act like she's all that. And she certainly doesn't leave the impression that she's spicy or fiery.
Often when the Girl Next Door is involved you have one of three types of plots: she is the Unlucky Childhood Friend to the male lead (usually a jock); she has a male Unlucky Childhood Friend that is chasing after her; or she is the Betty in a Betty and VeronicaLove Triangle. Occasionally, all three combine in a huge mess. This was used more or less in several movies by John Hughes.
Possibly she is with the main character as childhood, college or High School Sweethearts, but despite what The Other Wiki lists as examples this is not necessarily so.
The Spear Counterpart, Boy Next Door, is pretty much the same only, you know, male. Compare with Tomboy and Contrast with Femme Fatale and Peerless Love Interest. Also compare with The All American Boy who might of course be her High School Sweetheart.
For the 2004 film, see The Girl Next Door. For Numbuh 3 and Numbuh 5, see Codename: Kids Next Door. Also not to be mistaken for Crystal Bernard's album, The Girl Next Door.
Rachel from Tower Of God is set up as this, being a childhood friend and mother figure for Baam. The fact that she ran away from their life together should have been a first good hint, but it is subverted when she kills him out of jealousy and fear that he might stop her in her quest.
There is an unusual example in Welcome to the NHK. Misaki Nakahara is a literal Girl Next Door whose innocence and rather plain beauty is, at first, an integral part of her relationship with Satou, combining this trope with Manic Pixie Dream Girl. However, both tropes become subverted when it is revealed that not only does she have many problems of her own, but she has had an unhealthy obsession with Satou for a long time.
Played with in regards to Gwen Stacy of Spider Man. As portrayed in the comics, Gwen was more of an exotic flower whom Peter only met after he left Forest Hill and "went out into the world", i. e. Manhattan and college. She came from an upper-class background, her first boyfriend, Harry, was the son of a millionaire and in her first appearance she was introduced as a high-school beauty queen. However, as she became the Betty to Mary Jane's Veronica, she moved into this.
Shellie from Sin City is sassy but meek enough to qualify.
Film
Mary Jane Watson from the Spider-Man Trilogy movies is an example, arguably due to her being a Composite Character with Liz Allan, who in the comics attended Midtown High together with Peter Parker and Flash Thompson.
He's Just Not That Into You has three: Gigi Phillips is like a basset hound. They're kinda pathetic - so you want to cheer them up. Beth Murphy wants a good man and a husband. Mary is a romantic who has been hiding behind technology.
Mary, the protagonist of the movie Saved, is played as one of these; more importantly, she doesn't lose the general demeanor even after becoming pregnant. This is meant to show Mary as genuinely filled with the Christian spirit of compassion, in order to contrast Mary with her Alpha Bitch rival, who attends the same Christian school environment as her but is hypocritical about being "filled with Christ's love".
Harry Potter's best friend's little sister Ginny Weasley, his helpful intellectual friend Hermione Granger and his loyal optimistic companion Luna Lovegood.
Bella's hometown acquaintance Jacob from Twilight.
Sweet, shy, and sensible Jane Bennet in Pride and Prejudice is this to neighbor Charles Bingley.
For Cassie from Animorphs, high fashion is socks that actually match for once. She's also gentle in being the team's moral center and doing what she must but hating the need to fight.
Jack Weyland's 1990 book tells the story of teenage best friends Michelle & Debra where Michelle chooses to be the good, obedient, religious girl while Debra strays.
Sunshine has the titular character the vampire-slaying, magic-wielding version.
Julie Sims in 1632 is a Girl Next Doorwith a rifle. She's described as being pretty, but not much more, and aside from occasional bouts of angst is fairly level-headed.
Ruby, Ralph's girlfriend in Urn Burial is literally the Girl Next Door; she's lived in the house next door to him since they were born, and whilst not drop dead gorgeous is plenty attractive enough for being familiar and not having any pretensions.
Bernadette (Bernie) Manuelito in the Joe Leaphorn/Jim Chee series of Tony Hillerman is the rare Native American version. She is a pretty, cheerful, down-to-earth fellow Navajo cop who is contrasted to Chee's previous love interest, the beautiful, sophisticated, half-white lawyer Janet Pete from Washington, D.C.
The titular character from iCarly, Carly Shay. Cute and feminine but not overtly sexual, Freddie's known her for a long time, and they have the Unlucky Childhood Friend and Just Friends thing going on. Carly is popular at school and with her webshow without being the Alpha Bitch, and will rebel against authority if she perceives unfairness in the treatment of her friends. Carly does have enough aspects of the Genki Girl to qualify her for that as well, but there Ain't No Rule that says she can't be The Genki Girl Next Door. See The Chick and Tomboy and Girly Girl.
Joey from Dawson's Creek is one of the more attractive examples
Matt from The Vampire Diaries is the male version of this. He is a genuinely nice and friendly guy.
Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls is straight up while her mother Lorelai knows how to put an outfit together, host a fun party and is a role model to Rory making her a double subversion. Rory's first boyfriend Dean was the male version until he Took a Level in Jerkass.
From Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Willow is straight up this, while Buffy's toughness mixed with her femininity make her character average out.
Mary from 7th Heaven starts going out with a neighbor guy who she used to play basketball with. After she breaks up with him he says that playing a game together will help him feel more like they're friends again.
Penny from The Big Bang Theory. She moves into the apartment across the hall in the first episode and that alone gave Leonard some hope that she might become interested in him. She is consistently portrayed as a fairly down-to-earth and friendly girl that helps fill in the gaps with the guys own lacking social skills. Still, as she and Leonard start dating it's made fairly clear that if they weren't neighbors he wouldn't have had much of a shot with her.
To some extent, Alyx from Half-Life. Only debatable thing is that when she was living in Black Mesa, she was only a baby. But then came the Combine occupation and she became a rather hot tomboy by the time Gordon returned two decades later. Since then, they've been together for most of the time.
Refia from Final Fantasy III. Pretty, but not sexy? Check. Features that make her plain? Check. Endearing adorable somehow? Double Check.
Both Yuna and Rikku fit into this, both being sweet, caring, down to earth girls (albeit ones who can summon and befriend◊ massive magical monsters and create explosive bombs to kill things with).
Note that all three of these girls are royalty (more or less; Lycia's not a monarchy but Lilina's father is nevertheless the head of a country). Then again, the same is true of their love interests, so it's all relative.
In The Fairly Odd Parents, Tootie is a geeky girl who lives near Timmy and quite obviously loves him. Although Timmy at first doesn't return her affections, he sympathizes with her since they both have to deal with Tootie's meaner older sister and Timmy's babysitter, Vicky. According to the Live Action movie Many years later, Tootie returns to town a transformed woman, and Timmy falls in love with her.
Like Buffy, Kim Possible is a double subversion because she's insecure about boys, dating, and the social order, and has very few close friends; however, she's admired by her peers, involved in every school activity, and is an international kung-fu-fighting pro-bono action heroine.
