This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Susan Davis: Sure, this is an actual trope, but the name "brother complex" actually means being attracted to one's big brother (Namami in Revolutionary Girl Utena is referred to on several occasions as having a "big brother complex" toward Touga) or to big brother figures, rather than serving as a big brother figure. Perhaps Onii Sama or some such other name might be better for this? (And conversely, there's a "siscon" sister complex — Takumi is accused of having one toward Mai in Mai-HiME, for example.)
Susan Davis: Also, there are quite a few examples of girls serving as "Onee-sama" figures:
- Onna-Maze -> Mill in Maze Megaburst Space
- Mai -> Mikoto in Mai-HiME
- Usagi -> Chibiusa in Sailor Moon
- Sachiko -> Yumi in Maria-sama ga Miteru, among numerous other examples
- Natsumi -> the neighbourhood kindergarten in Youre Under Arrest
- Alice -> Rin in Please Save My Earth
- Tomari -> Hazumu in Kashimashi Girl Meets Girl
- et cetera
...it's a very common trope among Shoujo heroines, as it gives them a chance to seem maternal and feminine, yet strong and capable.
Susan Davis: Hmm. If this applies to both sexes, how about Onee Nii Sama as a trope name?
Susan Davis: In Card Captor Sakura, Yukiko jokes despite Touya’s teasing of Sakura, he has a protective Big Brother Complex when it counts. — I rewatched this particular episode, and Yukiko does use "big brother complex" in this way, but it's the only example used this way that I can find. (The "mazucon" one involves Hale being accused of being attracted to Weda, IIRC.)
Dark Sasami: Sorry to interrupt your monologue, Susan, but I do want to agree with you. This trope is named backwards. I don't like Onee Nii Sama, though, because that was really something very different.
lolwut: Does it matter if it's technically backward? It's easy to remember, it's easy to associate with the trope. If it was something like the "World of Cardboard" Speech then I'd be all for renaming it, as I can never remember just what it's supposed to be, but it seems fine as is. Make a note in the entry about how it would be called in a clinical setting and move on?
Jefepato: I'm not sure I'm understanding this trope right. Is it applicable to literal protective (or overprotective) siblings where there's no romantic subtext? If not, do we have another trope for that?
Clarste: to lolwut: It's not just clinical, it's a pre-existing anime fandom term that's being used completely backwards in a confusing way. I came to this page thinking I knew exactly what it was, and it wasn't. I can't think of any good examples of other tropes that might be in this precise position of having a name that makes sense but twists the meaning completely away from the fandom that spawned it, but it's just weird. Even something as simple as changing "Complex" to "Syndrome" or something like that would help a lot, since the phrase is so specific (and ingrained in anime fans of certain circles). The trope's about people who have a pressing desire to act like a protective big brother, right? I'll admit that I'm slightly unclear on this because I read the first half thinking the wrong thing.
Citizen: As an anime fan, this title did confuse me. Apparently anime fandom turned the meaning on its head. I'll leave the rest to the forum thread.
C Trombley: Could I get an explanation of the first quote?
Kamino Neko: It translates (very roughly) to 'I love you, big brother, I love you, big brother, I love you, big brother'.
Vampire Buddha: Removed this:
If somebody wants to post it in English, go ahead, but please respect those of us who don't speak Japanese.
Rogue 7: Pulling the Nunnaly picture. Not that it doesn't fit, but it's poor-quality and far too large. Link for posterity
◊. Not to mention, looking at the filename, I don't think we're supposed to hotlink things like that. Use the image uploader.
Fast Eddie: This quote ...
... doesn't really introduce the trope in any helpful way. Maybe it makes sense after you read the trope.
