Basic Trope: A character of mixed nationality/heritage, or someone who is meant to be foreign but has ties to the country the story takes place.
- Straight:
- Alice Hirokawa is half-English and half-Japanese, respectively through her mother and father.
- Alice was born in Japan, raised in England, and returned to Japan to go back to her roots.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice is 10% English, 10% French, 10% German, 10% Russian, 10% Mexican, 10% Egyptian, 10% Indian, 10% Chinese, 10% Japanese, and 10% Nigerian.
- Nearly the entire population of the United Kingdom is half-Japanese and half-certain British ethnicity (English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish, etc.) and the British culture even has a noticable Japanese culture influence (for example: The BBC is in both English and Japanese, or London is depicted with Japanese architecture and has buildings usually seen in Tokyo (ex. London has Akihabara replacing Piccadilly Circus)).
- Downplayed:
- Alice was born and raised in Japan, and is fully Japanese by ethnicity, but she spent some time as an exchange student in England, and has picked up some of the English terms along the way.
- One of Alice's grandparents or great-grandparents was English, but the rest of her family comes from firmly Japanese backgrounds.
- Alice and her biological family are fully Japanese, but her parents divorced when she was 10. Her father started dating an englishwoman, who used to tell Alice stories about her homeland, causing Alice to develop an interest in the country and started studying its culture, history and languange.
- Alice speaks perfect English, born and raised in England, has a huge interest in English culture, this she claims (unironically) to be half-English, half-Japanese. She's not. She's fully Japanese... and so are her parents... and her grandparents... and so on. It's just that her parents moved to England before Alice was born and chose her name to be English.
- Justified:
- Not everyone just marries and has kids with other people of the same ethnicity or nationality.
- Alice's biracial heritage is fully noted and plays a part in her backstory.
- Inverted: Alice is the England-born and raised daughter to two ethnically Japanese parents, and primarily identifies as an Englishwoman even while in Japan.
- Subverted:
- At first, it seems like Alice is an example of this, but she just happens to have blonde hair and uses the name "Alice" because she thinks foreign culture is cool.
- Alice has a Japanese father and an English mother but her father is adoptive, and her genetic father died before she was born. It does explain the lack of resemblance without any infidelity being involved.
- Alice claims to be partially Japanese in an effort to fully fit in with the Japanese populace. But it is soon revealed to be cover story and it turns out she is fully foreign and was caught in a lie.
- Double Subverted: ...But that's because she is half-English!
- Parodied:
- She's half-Japanese and half whatever ethnicity is relevant to the episodes plot.
- The anime showcases a disclaimer claiming that Alice is still very much Japanese but is given a foreign name and appearance just so hopefully this franchise can sell outside of Japan.
- Alice claims to be half-Japanese, but this was revealed to be a lie, but she explains that it was the only way that the Studio Execs would allow a foreigner in the show.
- Zig Zagged: Alice keeps switching on whether or not she really is half-English, greatly confusing her friends.
- Averted:
- Alice is 100% Japanese.
- Alice is 100% foreign.
- Alice is a foreigner in Japan, but is 100% foreign.
- Enforced:
- "We need a character who is foreign while still being one of our own, add a mixed-race/mixed-nationality character in!"
- The casting was done with Ability over Appearance — Alice's actress was a perfect for the role and her being of mixed heritage added interesting dimensions to her character.
- "Hey, I have an idea of adding in a foreign character or few. What? No! That could drive our domestic audience away by alienating them! But wouldn't this help sell the franchise in foreign markets since we would need the profit from them? Hmmm... okay, fine but make them only partially foreign as to not offend our target audience since they come first!"
- Lampshaded: "That's some diverse heritage you got there, Alice."
- Implied: Alice speaks English and Japanese fluently, has blonde hair, and has British and Japanese flag charms on her phone. It isn't clear if she is meant to be of mixed heritage or just a Japanese anglophile with albinism.
- Invoked: Alice's mother was a princess and her father a prince; the whole reason she was born was to further the ties of the two nations.
- Exploited: She pretends to not speak Japanese to a group of foreigners, and embarrasses them when they insult her not expecting her to understand. Though this may cause one of them to call her out on being an asshole for intentionally being unhelpful to them.
- Defied: Alice's parents are both people who won't marry anyone that aren't of the same race or ethnic background as them.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: ???
- Deconstructed:
- Alice can never fit in regardless of where she lives, due to the nature of her mixed ancestry. As a result, in both England and Japan, she feels like an outsider.
- Alice's mixed-blood background is met with flack from her racist peers, who question why she is different from the rest.
- Reconstructed:
- Alice learns not to care what others think, and embraces her mixed-blood background as part of what makes her unique.
- In other words the story is an aesop about the dangers of Xenophobia and how we should be more respectful to those who are biracial.
- Played For Laughs: Alice confidently uses English words and phrases to impress her friends, even though she has no clue what they mean. Still, her friends are wowed at her "knowledge".
- Played For Drama: Because of her mixed-race background, Alice's tormentors go to great lengths to make her feel miserable, driving her to depression.
Back to But Not Too Foreign, which is half Main page, half Laconic.
