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It's hard enough being a puberty-affected teenager, but the Huge Schoolgirl can't really hide the fact she's so much bigger than everyone. If they don't have the flair, this can leave a character gangly and awkward, especially with the Japanese obsession with cute, short women.
This installs an enormous physical complex on the character, despite the near guarantee she'll still be quite pretty. Also usually coincides with being the most physically developed character. A character who comes to terms with their appearance can become Tall Dark And Bishoujo with enough self-esteem. Without that self-esteem, though, you can wind up with an oversized Shrinking Violet... a Weeping Willow, if you will.
Although this can affect adult women, this trope is much more obvious in high school aged characters; this girl will be obviously taller than her peers, and usually bustier. Otherwise this character can be a tomboy or a domestic type.
A strangely specific aspect of this trope is the actual measurement, usually 170 centimeters tall (about 5'7"). While this can seem like less of a big deal depending on what country you're from — the average female height in America, according to The Other Wiki, is around 164 cm (5'5"), and judging by how many women wear heels, it seems that tall women are actually seen as desirable — this measurement is a huge deal in Japan, where the average female height is 158 cm, or 5'2". Yes, Japanese people don't like tall women. Most of the time.
Examples
Anime and Manga
- Shinobu Kandadori, the best friend of Nanako from Crayon Shinchan, is basically a (gigantic) male wrestler on a sailor-fuku and with pigtails, but she has also a very feminine personality. Even her name is a pun on Shinobu Kandori, a famous japanese (female) ex-wrestler and politician.
- Lovely Complex is built on the premise as the very tall lead girl compounds the issue by getting a crush on a particularly short boy.
- Sailor Moon: Makoto's height (168cm) was one of several explanations for her obsessive need to appear feminine. She seems not to notice Michiru and Haruka are actually taller than her, but the former apparently has much more confidence while the latter is often mistaken for a guy anyway.
- Air Master's Aikawa Maki (188cm) is quite prominently taller and buffer than most other characters. Despite her original interest in gymnastics, the expected switch in size is inexplicably never commented upon.
- Sakaki of Azumanga Daioh (174cm and still growing) has an obsession with tiny cute things and would prefer to be one. Depending on the character(s) doing the viewing, she is perceived as either Tall Dark And Bishoujo (Kaorin) or a Huge Schoolgirl (Chiyo and Osaka). She's also a prime example of the Weeping Willow sub-type... She's so shy and withdrawn even talking takes an incredible effort on her part — which ironically reinforces her image as a cold, tough Delinquent.
- Likewise, Maggie Mui (185cm, exactly 6'1") from TV series of Read Or Die is shy and bookish most of the time. (She isn't a teenager, but still isn't the oldest.)
- Mao Daidouji from Princess Nine has it doubly bad, being both taller than normal (175cm) and heavier than normal. When she first appeared, they played a bit of music that sounded like the Giant Robo theme.
- Rei Hasekura (Rosa Foetida en Bouton) from Maria-sama ga Miteru is a Huge Schoolgirl, a Bifauxnen, and a Kendo Team Captain, although she prefers domestic interests.
- Kanako Hosokawa is way taller than Rei still, towering almost two heads above most of the rest of the cast. It is compensated by her gentle demeanor and there is no sign that she or others are bothered by her height. For quite a while she even was a serious candidate for becoming Yumi's petite soeur.
- This was played into humor in the outtakes when Kanako was made into a towering giant.
- A filler episode in Kidou Tenshi Angelic Layer had Misaki, the small heroine that fears looking weak or losing because of her tiny size, battle a Huge Schoolgirl whose complex led her to a feverish determination to defeat the tiny, cute one.
- Aoyama Motoko in Love Hina, exacerbated with being somewhat cold and serious.
- Parodied in Mari from Project A Ko. Not only is Mari huge for a high school girl (to say the least), she was intentionally designed as a parody of the male hero Ken, of "Fist of the North Star," and physically she is a virtual clone of him, if he had breasts and wore a fuku. She even shares some of his signature martial arts moves. The overall comedic effect is compounded by Mari's high-pitched, girlish speaking voice, contrasted by the extremely masculine grunts and various non-speech noises she makes.
- Minami Iwasaki of Lucky Star, pictured above, is not particularly tall (163cm), but she was especially notable in the company of her pint-sized friend Yutaka (138cm, also pictured above), to the point that Hiyori finds the One Head Taller situation too pretty to avoid. Minami often subverts the trope by quietly expressing her wish to have larger breasts - she is completely flat-chested, and finds this deeply depressing.
- Possibly subverted in Kaede (181cm) from Negima, who despite being the tallest has no complex about nor is it the size issue commented on. This might be explained either because of the high oddity level of the class in general, or it simply being overshadowed by her charmpoint role as a ninja.
- It is eventually commented upon, in that she and Mana, one of her Huge School Girl classmates, are unable to get their student discounts at the local movie theater, as the ticket saleslady refuses to believe that they are only 14.
- Similarly, the heights of her classmates Mana, Chachamaru, Akira, and Chizuru are the last things noticed by classmates or the reader; for that matter they are also wholly unconcerned about it.
- The "bigness" of several classmates is pointed out by various characters throughout the series. "What the hell?! Are they really 14-year-old students?"
- But all of that is due to overdevelopment in a non-vertical direction.
- Chachamaru is also quite tall, but she's a robot, so it's really one of the least weird things about her.
- Plus, if she ever gets uncomfortable with her size, she can just get a new body! Current models include the standard, one with artificial skin and, for some reason, a loliform.
- The loliform makes some sort of sense, as it is the one that looks closest to her actual age.
- In this series, everybody's first instinct for disguising themselves is an age change. Chachamaru got the loliform with an upgrade package designed by analyzing the events of the Festival arc, in which she needed a disguise and had to settle for a bulky concealing costume. New ear decorations (everybody's second instinct for disguise) came included.
- Hawatari Yuiko in Loveless, leading Yayoi to consider Ritsuka too short to date her.
- Eyeshield 21 has this as a Sight Gag; the "Giants" football team isn't particularly large, but their female cheerleaders are, to the point one of the boys complains that they should be on the team instead. There's also Otohime and Urashima, the captain and vice-captain of the Poseidons' cheer-leading squad.
- The protagonist of the manga A Six Feet Girl (guess how tall she is).
- Averted in Sketchbook, where Juju is more than one head taller than most other female cast members. She is still quite the elegant type though, with her drawing skills, guitar playing and singing and you don't get the idea that she or others pay any special attention to her height.
- Ryoko Mitsurugi, the titular character of the manga/anime Real Bout High School Samurai Girl, is much admired for her strength and samurai ideals but has a complex about her height - especially since she's (marginally) taller than her crush.
- She's older and out of school, but Milly Thompson from Trigun otherwise fits in quite well.
- Probably the ur-example, although admittedly also a parody, is Morumo Shirase from the manga Morumo 1/10. She is a 16-meter-tall schoolgirl (she's an alien) who has to wear advertising banners on her school uniform so her family has enough money to support her. She eventually does receive a treatment to make her human height, but it does nothing to reduce her enormous weight and thus she still crushes the concrete of sidewalks with every step.
- Shiratori Suzune in Pani Poni Dash is 172 cm tall — she towers above her best friend Otome. The two are Jerk Asses to each other, usually about the height difference. Otome calls her a "giant woman", and Suzune loves to poke the top of Otome's head, where she claims there's a pressure point to make her shorter.
- An elementary school version: the Bokukko Naomi Okuyama from Ojamajo Doremi.
- In Ikki Tousen, there's Kyoushou's Kyocho Chuukou (Xu Chu). An extremely tall girl, in the manga she was bullied by the boys from the judo club, who refused to believe that she was a woman. At some point, they corner Chuukou and rip her clothes in the dojo, to see if she's a man or not. When caught by Sousou (Cao Cao), he released his Superpowered Evil Side to protect Chuukou, believing they wanted to rape her; she had to use a Cooldown Hug on him, but it was too late for the boys.
- Of course, almost the entire female cast are also abnormally huge for girls their age in another way, If You Know What I Mean.
- She was still the only one whose height and strength was treated this way in canon.
- Minato from Hyakko is the well-endowed and leggy type, causing her classmate Nene to gush over her—much to her dismay, since she is also painfully shy.
- Kodomo no Jikan has Usa, who fits this trope like a glove. She's not particularly tall, but instead rather well endowed. This causes her lots of discomfort - she's a bookish, shy girl and is frequently mistaken for a middle-schooler (she's actually 8.)
- Remmy from To Heart. Justified by being half-American.
- The female lead character of the Hentai-manga Take On Me certainly qualifies. Her boyfriend on the other hand is the shortest in the class however (but not everywhere), while her 26 year old sister is walking Lolicon-bait.
- Another "out of school but still fitting" character is Liutenant Isane Koutetsu from Bleach. She's the tallest female Shinigami, has a quite ample bust, and her size makes her a bit embarrassed in the omakes.
- Kanako Ohno from Genshiken, although a university student, also qualifies. She is very tall and busty, in normal circumstances rather shy (to the point of covering up her swimsuit with a long shirt in the beach episode), but exhibitionistic when cosplaying.
- Funabashi from Ocha Nigosu is a rare male version, being an intimidatingly large and scary-looking boy who is a member of his school's tea ceremony club and longs to live "a heartwarming life."
- Seiichirou Kitano in Angel Densetsu is another male version, though in his case he's irrepressibly kind and considerate and utterly unaware of his bad reputation.
- In Axis Powers Hetalia, Berwald/Sweden is a HUGE Big Guy (speculated to be even taller than Ivan/Russia, who's already 182 cms. tall) with a Death Glare constantly plastered on his face. However, several strips (specially, the "5 years anniversary" one) show that he's got several traits of the Huge Schoolgirl, personality wise: homely, gentle, reluctant to fight openly if he can help it, and even shy sometimes.
Sweden: I wanna say all kinds of nice things... but... (HUGE BLUSH)... 'm embarr'ssed!
Finland: Hey! Su! Whoa, are you okay?!
- Tsukishima Botan from Change 123 is a huge schoolgirl. She dislikes it, wanting to be 'normal' like the other girls in her class, and can be mistaken for a boy at first glance.
- Kirishima Kanna of Sakura Taisen would certainly qualify if she were still in school; her official height is 197cm — about six foot six.
- She doesn't seem to have a complex about her size, though.
- Kanako from Maria+Holic satisfies this; she is much taller than her classmates, who comment on her height.
- Saya from Onidere isn't particularly tall, but she's a brutal gang leader with inhuman physical prowess and notorious cruelty... except around her boyfriend Tadashi, the only person she's comfortable showing her soft side to. With him, she's a mewling little kitten. On the other hand, she vows to commit murder-suicide if anyone ever finds out about them...
- Super Dreadnought Girl 4946. On her first day of school, she becomes defensive when called 50M tall (she's actually 49M and 56CM).
- Ishidou Natsuo from Teppu is another embodiment of this trope. First year in high school, she is 182cm tall, as it is often commented on. However, the real trouble is her natural talent in sports, which brings people to hate her. Arguably, this is the cause of her being a Jerkass. Or maybe is the opposite?
- To make things worse, she is approached by a cheerful girl to join her MMA club.
- Halo: Legends: In the episode The Babysitter, Spartan Cal-141 could qualify as this. Due to her augmentations, she towers over the (all male) members of the squad of ODSTs she accompanies. This gets to the point that they do not even realize that she is female until her Samus Is A Girl moment.
- Haruka Shiraishi from Chu-bra!! is more developed than every other student at their school. She's only in middle school, so this really makes her stand out.
- Namiko in GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class is larger than her classmates. She seldom raises the insecurity thing, but Nodamiki often reminded us that, in fact, she does, and that is why Namiko always wears a big belt and never wears the school blazer to school.
Literature
- In the Forgotten Realms book Pool of Radiance, Shal Bal, a woung wizard's apprentice in possession of a ring of wishing carelessly wishes that she was strong enough to unload her horse by herself, causing her to grow until she is strong enough. It never states how exactly large she grows, although it says she is a few hands taller than her friend (Who is said to be a little bit over 6'). She thinks of herself as ugly now, but once it switches to her up-and-coming companions point of view, he points out (to himself and the audience, not to her) that she is still very attractive, assuming one is not intimidated by a woman who is larger (and probably stronger) than oneself.
- In the Harry Potter series, the vast physical size of Millicent Bulstrode is an ongoing joke in the second book.
- Enid Nightshade in the Worst Witch book series was described as very large and shy, though really she had a secret evil (ish) spark that she used her size and relative newness to the school to disguise, much to Worst Witch Mildred's chagrin. In the live action series, however, Enid was played be a very small (and more visibly spunky) actress.
- Calliope in Middlesex was about 5'10" even before she turned fourteen. Though, in this case, she had some unusual circumstances to explain it.
- Lady Sybil Vimes seems to have been this when younger.
Live Action TV
- In Yo Soy Betty La Fea there is Sandra Patiņo, whose complex in being this trope is as big and tall as her. Because everyone used to pick on her because of her height, she is extremely prone to random acts of aggression if minimally provoked. She's specially frustrated because she decided to only marry a man who were taller than her, something she has yet to find, leading her to a Christmas Cake existence she constantly complains against.
- In Arrested Development a young Lindsay Bluth complains to her much smaller not really twin brother about being so much bigger than the other kids at school Lindsay is, in fact, several years older than her classmates, unbeknownst to anyone but her parents and once prospective adoptive father Stan Sitwell
- Jessie from Saved By The Bell is so distressed about her height that she has a nightmare where she doesn't stop growing.
- Moze on Neds Declassified School Survival Guide. Her side of the Guide to Your Body specifically dealt with her self-consciousness about her height. According to Lindsey Shaw's current (12/2007) IMDb page she is 5'7" (170cm), two years after the episode was made.
- Sumire from Kimi wa Petto often has trouble because she is beautiful and taller than her male coworkers.
- Summer Heights High? As with all three of the comic characters in the show (the rest of the cast are a collection of Innocent Bystanders) Ja'mie is played by Chris Lilley, and towers over the rest of the (actually teenaged and female) schoolgirls.
- Also with his other teenaged character, Jonas, although that can be handwaved in the fact that he's a native of Tonga.
- That70s Show has Donna Pinciatti, who's confident and more of a Hot Amazon; and Big Rhonda, who is shy and awkward.
- Destiny in One Life To Live overlaps between this and Hollywood Pudgy. She's not that tall but gets bullied for her weight and the fact that they shoot her from the perspective of her
boyfriend who's in a wheelchair means she gets the Hitler Cam a lot.
Video Games
- Natsu Ayuhara from the Rival Schools series of fighters is not only the tallest female in the cast, but at 182cm (just under 6 feet) taller than a good number of the male characters as well. She often remarks about how most boys are often afraid of her because of her size, with the exception of her on-again, off-again boyfriend Shoma (who coincidentally is Natsu's childhood friend and polar opposite).
- Roleplay example: While she's still quite petite, the strong, scarred and angry tsundere in Kokoro has a very similar complex.
- Asihara Kyoko from Crescendo, who is described as being 5'8" (roughly as tall as the male protagonist)
- Senba Uzuki from Akai Ito is about 170 cm. tall, much taller than the heroine.
Webcomics
- In Sluggy Freelance, a teenage Oasis was a Huge Gymnast. Specifically, her legs were long and thin, while the other gymnasts' were short and bulging with muscles. They called her a freak
 , naturally.
- In Scary Go Round, bookish wallflower Erin Winters mistakenly drinks an experimental growth serum and acquires Amazonian proportions (and hair). This causes her great distress, until she starts getting even with bullies, trouncing all the other girls at field hockey, and threatening her romantic rival with a beating.
- Also worth mentioning is one of the aforementioned bullies, called Big Lindsay.
- The Mega Tokyo fandom were calling Ninamori Tall Girl for a long time before she was given a name, with a few comments from readers who thought she was drawn with poor perspective.
- Ruby's World's titular protagonist is a fantastically exaggerated version of this trope, at 9'1" and 270 lbs. following her transformation. Her personality is a mixture between Shrinking Violet and Beware The Nice Ones .
Web Original
- Two Survival Of The Fittest examples, both from V3. Dacey Ashcroft and Afra Jacinth, 6ft 1" and 6ft 2" respectively. The latter is very gawky and awkward, wheras the former pretends to be/ gives the illusion of being a boy. There was also Amanda Jones in v1, who stood at a towering 6'4.
Western Animation
Comic Books
- Archie Comics has Ethel, who is something of an exaggerated version, as she's somewhat taller than most of the boys.
- Word Of God says the She Hulk is 7 feet tall, which is taller than most male heroes. Not exactly a schoolgirl anymore, though.
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