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Tank top, short shorts, and attitude.
Tomboyish female co-star in a Shonen (Demographic) oriented series. Often argues with the lead male a lot in a kind of mild Slap-Slap-Kiss situation, although the Will They or Won't They? debate is occasionally subverted.
The character may not even be that tomboyish by Western standards, and have extreme weaknesses for cute things and girlish trappings. The latter sometimes they avoid because they just can't seem to make it work for them; their lack of femininity is often the butt of jokes, even if it's clear to the audience she's very cute.
Usually wears a lightly Fanservice-y, sporty outfit like short shorts and a tanktop (hence the name) that, possibly Baring Her Midriff. If they're a bit girlier, they'll wear miniskirts once or twice as well.
She often has a soft spot in her heart for plants and animals making her a Friend to All Living Things. If the living thing is a person she'll probably become a Bully Hunter.
Often overlaps with Bokukko. For the other kind of "short tank", see Cute Bruiser. For the other, other kind of tank, see Tank Goodness. Compare Tomboy Princess and Spirited Young Lady.
Examples
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Anime & Manga
- Pokémon
- Misty (Kasumi), right down to the outfit. She is also the Trope Codifier.
- Also her successor of sorts, Haruka/May. She's quite girlier than Misty, but otherwise fits very well.
- Iris is one of these too.
- Kaori Makimura of City Hunter is a combination of this, a Bifauxnen, and a Clingy Jealous Girl. She spends most of the series in unflattering clothing and talks in a very masculine way. It should be noted that while she is a Bifauxnen, she manages to invariably draw the, er, attention of the main character whenever put into feminine clothing and makeup.
- Although she tends to prefer either gis or more feminine clothing, Akane Tendô of Ranma ˝ certainly qualifies.
- Kizaki Tamayo from Kidou Tenshi Angelic Layer.
- Arumi from Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai.
- Lina Inverse from Slayers fits the characterization, but is the main character of her series.
- Ryoko Subaru from Martian Successor Nadesico.
- Anzu Mazaki/Tea from Yu-Gi-Oh!.
- Merrill from Rune Soldier Louie.
- Sora Takenouchi from Digimon Adventure; there were token girls after her, to be sure, but Sora fits this trope the best.
- Elie in Rave Master and, from the same author, Lucy in Fairy Tail.
- Sonozaki Mion, from Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni. Has a crush on the male lead Keiichi and really wouldn't have minded being given that cute doll...
- Winry Rockbell of Fullmetal Alchemist.
- Anita King of the Read or Die TV series fits this trope to the letter.
- Tomoka Osakada and Kurumi Ijyuin from The Prince of Tennis. They're not the main females, but otherwise they fit the trope quite well (Tomoka borders on Bokukko, though).
- Rosetta Passel and Sora Naegino from Kaleido Star.
- Fuuko Kirisawa of Flame of Recca.
- Rukia Kuchiki from Bleach can be defined like that. Except she only wears her Shinigami and school uniforms, one piece dresses and kimonos. Anytime she's hiding her usual rough and ready self, she is a Proper Lady to her classmates, Ichigo's family and her Aloof Big Brother. Everyone else is fair game and they get to see either her kicks to the head, or her love for bunnies and shojo manga.
- Miki Koishikawa from Marmalade Boy mixes this and Kawaiiko.
- Nadja Applefield from Ashita No Nadja. She's a graceful self-taught dancer and can look pretty well in a gown, but is also very straightforward and was really tomboyish in her younger years.
- Beth from Petite Princess Yucie.
- Gundam
- Maya Ibuki from Neon Genesis Evangelion can be considered a grown-up version of the trope.
- Mahou Sensei Negima! has Asuna Kagurazaka and Anya Cocolova.
- Haruhi Suzumiya is the closest the series comes to having this archetype; evidence of this includes a passion for sports, which is most explicit in "Boredom", and her wardrobe including cuffed jean shorts, as seen in "Remote Island Syndrome", "Endless Eight", and "Sigh".
- Meryl Strife from Trigun.
- Subaru Nakajima from Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS fits this to a tee: she's brash and Hot Blooded, but is not actually any less feminine than the other female characters (and even cries more often than her more "girly" partner, Teana). She's also the other kind of "shorttank".
- Both Hitomi Kanzaki and Princess Millerna Sarah Aston from The Vision Of Escaflowne.
- Nagisa Misumi from Futari wa Pretty Cure.
- Miki Onimaru from Ramen Fighter Miki certainly counts, due to her rough-and-tough personality.
- Otome Katou and Sekai Saionji from School Days.
- Hayate the Combat Butler: Hinagiku Katsura, though she tries to impress the fact that she is feminine while her friends try to convince her she acts more like a guy. She likes it when Hayate does notice that she's feminine though.
- Luna, the main character from Mujin Wakusei Survive. She looks girlier than the standard, though, since she wears a miniskirt.
- Puria Richardson, of Gaiking: Legend of Daikuu Maryuu. Shorts, check. Tanktop, check. Tomboy, double check.
- Axis Powers Hetalia
- The Principality of Wy is represented by a pigtailed Little Miss Snarker in shorts and a belly shirt.
- The fandom has also given this personality to New Zealand (which counts if it's a girl.)
- Belgium counts as a grown-up version of the trope. Seychelles also seems to have shades of this lately.
- Keiko Yukimura of YuYu Hakusho.
- Taiga Aisaka from Toradora, while not tomboyish, is very loud and brash. She also has one hell of a punch (and in the manga, a powerful kick too.)
- Mayo Sakaki from the 3rd Fushigi Yuugi OVA. She wears her hair short, and she's on the Yotsubadai High School Girls' Basketball Team. She also has a weakness for her coach, Taka Tsukunami a.k.a. Tamahome.
- Wrench Wench Miki Jounouchi from Future GPX Cyber Formula.
- Arguably, the main character of Yumekui Merry. Her tomboyish Little Miss Badass attitude is belied by her slightly girlish choices of clothing — a Nice Hat, a belly shirt, a miniskirt, Zettai Ryouiki stockings, and chunky boots that add about two inches to her height. Not that she CAN'T kick your ass without breaking a sweat, but...
- Misaka Mikoto from Toaru Majutsu No Index/Toaru Kagaku No Railgun.
- Rurouni Kenshin has Makimachi Misao, a tomboyish Genki Girl who argues with Kenshin (and most other male characters, actually) and whose preferred fighting clothes are shorts and a sleeveless shirt. Even her "civilian" clothes involve shorts.
- Candice "Candy" White from Candy Candy is very tomboyish, but she doesn't mind dresses and wears ribbons on her hair.
- By the standards of Rosario + Vampire, Kokoa Shuzen is one; an early chapter of the second serialization reveals that she's willing to train in the martial arts just to defeat her sister in a fair fight.
Comic Books
Films — Live-Action
- Julie from Flipped will climb a tree, raise chickens and tame her yard but also says that the boy next door is walking around with her first kiss.
- Independent spirited Katherine "Katy" McLaughlin from Flicka doesn't want her hair too short or she'll look like a boy.
Literature
- Kristy from Terry Pratchett's Johnny Maxwell Trilogy.
- Pepper from Good Omens is more of a straight-up tomboy, but also counts due to being the only female in Them.
- Karin Murphy from The Dresden Files probably counts, although she doesn't fit the age group for this trope exactly.
- Sally Kimball from the Encyclopedia Brown series, right down to the ambiguously romantic relationship with the protagonist.
- Quidditch playing Ginny Weasley from Harry Potter is somewhat of a tomboy, but is about 75% girly.
- Little League player Paula Quinn in The Dark Side Of Nowhere out pitched ugly, angry, Bully Chambers but right afterwards, to erase his humiliation, asked him out on a date.
- Annie of The Magic Treehouse is Jack's little sister who's always ready to jump into adventure.
Live-Action TV
- Firefly gives us Kaylee. She's a distinct non-combatant, and sometimes Damsel in Distress, but she is an amazing mechanic who happens to have a love for strawberries and frilly dresses. She's often covered in grease and in work clothes, but she's still pretty cute. And has enough snark to keep up with the rest of the crew, and keep her Love Interest hot and bothered. As Simon mentions during a drunken heart-outpouring, she's very cute, especially when she's covered in engine grease.
Puppet Shows
Video Games
- Fire Emblem
- Dorothy from Fire Emblem 6; Rebecca from Fire Emblem 7. Curiously, both girls are archers.
- Fury from Fire Emblem 4 is also an example.
- Lyn, the main female character from 7, also counts.
- Chie Satonaka of Persona 4.
- The World Ends With You
- Shiki Misaki fits pretty well here.
- UG!Shiki Misaki — that is, Eri, whose appearance Shiki borrowed for the Game. RG!Shiki Misaki has a different look.
- Siskier of Blaze Union.
- Several Touhou characters arguably fit this archetype, but the
best-known strongest is probably Cirno, the "beloved tomboy" ice fairy.
- Usagi of Gotcha Force.
- Game-version Misty counts just as much as her anime counterpart; she dresses the part, is outright called a tomboy, and gets rather Tsundere in the Johto games.
Visual Novels
- In the Doki Doki Survival Dating Sims, the "Umibe no Secret" lead Ayaka fits the trope to a T.
Web Original
Western Animation
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