Line #45 Main/ThePrettyGuysAreStronger


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4	->''"[Yuno] can even do that? That's what separates us from hot guys, dang it!"''
5	-->-- '''Finral Roulacase''', ''Manga/BlackClover''
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7	An improbable situation where despite a group being filled with various chiseled athletes, sturdy looking beasts, weapon outfitted death machines, and heavily outfitted personnel, the prettiest, least physically imposing members turn out to be the strongest, most capable and toughest of the bunch.
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9	[[RealityIsUnrealistic This is not merely cases where their build proves most effective for the job]] or [[TwentyFourHourArmor where their lighter wear proves more practical]] but when more delicate looking human builds are themselves indicators of might.
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11	Compare BishonenLine, where humanoids gradually grow or transforms into more monstrous appearances then sharply drops back into a more human form as they get stronger, MusclesAreMeaningless, HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic, ArmorIsUseless, the coincidental gameplay trope StrongFleshWeakSteel, and AgentPeacock. Contrast MusclesAreMeaningful, where people with the most impressive ''looking'' build are portrayed as being superior, even if this should not be the case. If the pretty boy leads but is not that strong see TheManBehindTheMonsters.
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13	----
14	!!Examples
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17	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
18	* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', a worldview of the [[LadyLand Kuja tribe]] of Amazon Lily is that "strength is beauty". The women there run gamut from pretty normal looking, to amorous {{Gonk}}s, to incredibly beautiful - The leader of which, Boa Hancock, is not only WorldsMostBeautifulWoman (aside from mermaid princess Shirahoshi) but also among the strongest woman in the world, despite being normally built and smaller than her two weaker sisters.
19	* In ''Manga/{{Seimaden}}'', the ruler of the demon world is Laures, an impossibly beautiful man. Demons lower in rank than himself are attractive but more bestial. Mid-rank demons are horrible monsters. But Laures' assistant and servant Tetiyus, a low-rank demon, is almost as beautiful as his master.
20	* ''Manga/YuYuHakusho''. Based on the RandomPowerRanking of demons, we start from very animalistic and brutish E and D Class demons to the semi-humanoid C Class with all sorts of technicolor hair then taking a huge jump in {{Bishonen}} with the B Classes who's only differences from humanity is their height or a hair of a different color, leading to a downgrade where the A Classes look like grotesque alien freaks, and finally ending with S Classes which could be best described as humans with the occasional horn, extra ears or different hair/skin tone.
21	* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion''
22	** After sixteen monstrosities that get weirder with each new one, Tabris the 17th Angel is revealed to be [[spoiler:a white-haired boy who also goes by the name of Kaworu Nagisa]].
23	** Of course the 18th Angel is [[spoiler:humanity as a whole.]] You don't get any more humanoid than that.
24	* In ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'', there's a fairly visible progression in power from small {{youkai}} to larger ones to monstrously huge ones. Common wisdom among those who know anything about the subject, however, holds that the most powerful and dangerous youkai of all are the ones who look almost completely human. This proves consistently true over the course of the series, with the most prominent examples being the title character's father and half-brother.
25	** Something similar sometimes applies to the human characters. The Band of Seven includes a giant, a CreepyCrossdresser, and what looks like a bizarre medieval cyborg, but the band's leader, Bankotsu, is the youngest of the group and also the most conventionally attractive, being a braided {{Bishonen}} who looks very short next to his {{BFS}}. He's still the strongest out of all of them.
26	* ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' works similarly to ''[=InuYasha=]'' -- Weaker demons tend to look like {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, while the strongest ones tend to look like {{Bishonen}} with wings, horns, and other cosmetic extras.
27	* Followed by ''Manga/ZatchBell''. Weakest mamodo opponents encountered at the beginning mostly look like humans with cosmetic differences, then much less human-like mamodo, up to and including gigantic dragons, make their entry, yet the first two {{Big Bad}}s, Zofis and Zeon, look like humans with cosmetic differences, and the final one, Clear Note, is virtually indistinguishable from a human, save from his monstrous BattleAura. Then subverted, when he is revealed to have an OneWingedAngel uber-form after all.
28	* In ''Manga/{{Guyver}}'', the [[{{Mook}} Zoanoids]] are very monstrous looking, the [[EliteMook Hyperzoanoids]] run the gamut from fairly monstrous to fairly humanoid, but the Zoalords -- the masters of Chronos and the main enemies of the second half of the series, are all humanoid-sized with human faces.
29	* In ''Anime/{{K}}'', the two disciples of the Seventh King, Ichigen Miwa, are this. Kuroh Yatogami, the "Black Dog" is a willowy LongHairedPrettyBoy who's the strongest fighter in the first season aside from Kings. He [[CurbStompBattle curb stomps]] one of the other strongest fighters, Misaki Yata (who's pretty {{Bishonen}} himself) in the first two episodes. Then the movie introduces his senior pupil, Yukari, a DanceBattler who defeats entire squads from powerful Clans easily. They're now enemies and Kuroh finds it hard to defeat him.
30	* In ''Manga/FruitsBasket'', the HotBlooded martial-artist Kyo regulaly challenges Bishonen "Prince Yuki" to fights (though it only happens twice in the manga, other characters claim it's a regular occurrence.) Yuki always hands Kyo his rear-end. This is subject to some FridgeLogic, as the ''rest'' of the time Yuki is portrayed as rather weak and subject to various health problems -- how he can win martial arts battles but have trouble finishing the walk to his school unassisted is never explained.
31	* Kenshin Himura from ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', the most feminine looking male in the series in addition to being the most powerful. Soujiro from the Kyoto arc too as he was one of Shishio's most deadly men.
32	* In ''Literature/VampireHunterD: Bloodlust'', the rival group of vampire hunters includes multiple huge, muscular, heavily armed hunters, (who mostly get their asses handed to them) and a sickly bishie named Grove who is bedridden. When Grove takes the right drugs, he creates an astral projection of pure energy that can blast entire armies into ashes without really trying.
33	* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': An enormous monster or ugly person is going to get beaten down very quickly. However, if a male character is pretty, then not only will he be important to the plot and ''not'' get killed off, but he is most likely ''very'' powerful. To list some: Ichigo Kurosaki TheHero, Byakuya is also one of the prettiest and one of the most devastatingly powerful characters in the series; ChildProdigy Toshiro; Jushiro is a veteran of the 13 and has several in-series fangirls. It should also be noted that not ''all'' of the strong male characters are pretty.
34	* ''Anime/StarDriver'': The TallDarkAndHandsome Tsunashi Takuto is one of his school's top Heartthrobs. and he's also the most powerful [[JobTitle Star Driver]] among the ones in (a rather literal) TheMasquerade of the [[EverythingsBetterWithSparkles Glittering Crux]] by simply [[IAmNotLeftHanded holding back]] on ''[[OncePerEpisode every]]'' battle so each time, he catches the VillainOfTheWeek off guard and defeats them. he's also able to perform DualWielding with {{Wooden Katanas\|AreEvenBetter}} outside his mech though.
35	** one time he defeats one of the GC because she was too busy [[MundaneUtility ogling him]] with her mech's X-ray vision feature.
36	* In ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', the undisputed strongest member of the [[TrueCompanions Band of the Hawk]] through most of the Golden Age arc is its [[RankScalesWithAsskicking commander]], the slender bishonen Griffith, and the petite woman Casca can outfight any man in the army except Griffith and Guts. Averted when Guts finally beats Griffith in a duel most of the way through the arc, but then played straight again [[spoiler:post-Eclipse after Griffith gets a massive supernatural power-up.]]
37	* Crops up several times in ''Manga/TokyoGhoul'', partially justified by the nature of Ghoul's superhuman abilities. While Banjou is the most physically imposing member of Kaneki's gang, it's actually the much shorter and more attractive Kaneki that is the powerhouse of the group. Likewise, among all the physically intimidating and powerful members of Aogiri, their strongest member turns out to be [[spoiler: Eto, a beautiful young woman that is easily mistaken for a child due to her size]]. Lastly, the strongest Investigator among the [[HunterOfMonsters CCG]] is Arima, a graceful {{Bishonen}} in glasses that [[AmbiguouslyBi Kaneki]] describes as "beautiful" during their first encounter.
38	* In ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist2003'', Envy is a LongHairedPrettyBoy in his preferred form [[spoiler:and his true form]] among the homunculi, to the point of androgyny. He's also the most powerful and [[TheDragon the closest]] to the BigBad [[spoiler:Dante]] and the most evil of all the homunculi.
39	* Pretty consistent in ''Anime/{{Shinzo}}''. Gyasa is a scary, physically imposing {{Medusa}}, but the actual King of the Reptiles, Ryuma, is a short, boyish {{Bishonen}}. Lord Caris is a very muscular WingedHumanoid, but his much stronger master Queen Rusephine is a delicately-build, angelic-looking woman.
40	* In ''Literature/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'', the heroes spend the second Wave fighting monsters and skeletons, while their final opponent is Glass, a gorgeous woman in a kimono. She promptly [[CurbStompBattle curbstomps them]].
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43	[[folder:Fan Works]]
44	* In ''Fanfic/{{The Games We Play\|TheGamerRWBY}}'', Grimm grow steadily larger and more monstrous the more powerful they get. Then there's [[spoiler:Gilgamesh]], who is human-sized, looks very much like one, and one of the strongest ever. ''And'' then there's [[spoiler:Malkuth, their creator and master]], who is ''the'' strongest being in the story, and [[spoiler:if Jaune is any indication]], he looks perfectly human.
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47	[[folder:Film]]
48	* ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'': The Terminator Models 800 and 850 are based on large muscular human males. The successor to the 800 series models (the [[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay T-1000]] or [[Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines T-X]] depending on which timeline you are in) are based on much slimmer and prettier humans yet are stronger and more resilient than the 800s.
49	* Ditto the [[DolledUpInstallment Hardwired...]]''Film/IRobot'' movie, where the new shiny robots with human like faces are able to outperform the old tin can variants.
50	* In ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'', Goblins are at best UglyCute for the most part, but their ruler, Jareth the Goblin King, who's also a powerful sorcerer and shapeshifter, is played by Creator/DavidBowie in his prime but with lots of makeup and a wig.
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53	[[folder:Literature]]
54	* In Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/TheSharingKnife'' series, the monsters of the series are known as "malices," creatures of sentient destructive energy which drain the life force of all surrounding creatures in order to build horrific, misshapen forms, and which grow geometrically stronger the more they feed. Over the series we see several different monstrous forms of malices, such as a werewolf malice that fed on wolves and a flying malice that fed on bats. The most advanced and most dangerous of the malices they fight is one that has consumed so many human lives that it has developed a stunningly beautiful, superhuman form.
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57	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
58	* The vaguelly humanoid MonsterOfTheWeek in ''Franchise/KamenRider'' are often commanded by [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters human]] or [[FullBodyDisguise human-looking]] generals.
59	** Regular [[Series/KamenRiderExAid Bugsters]] are bound by their programming, not self aware beyond their respective gameplay and have a static appearance. Fully manifesting into reality gives them a massive power boost, ability to [[InstantCostumeChange change]] [[HumanoidAbomination forms]] and [[GrewBeyondTheirProgramming evolve]], so any complete Bugsters is bad news.
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62	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
63	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''
64	** This game has Asmodeus, king of the Nine Hells and most powerful Archdevil of all. He's most commonly encountered looking like "an unprepossessing humanoid with red eyes, horns, and well-tailored robes." Recent sourcebooks have increased his height to thirteen feet, though. (But it is mentioned in a few books that his true form is some kind of monstrous, serpent-like beast.) This example is pretty clearly based on certain depictions of Satan. Lucifer was traditionally both the most powerful and the most beautiful of angels, at least prior to his Fall. (And, in some versions, he retains both qualities even afterward.)
65	** Daelkyr of ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'', the ultimate rulers of the plane of madness, lords and creators of monstrosities such as beholders and mind flayers, resemble "perfectly formed athletic human males, possessing unearthly beauty."
66	* of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
67	** Larger Tyranid creatures [[FourLegsGoodTwoLegsBetter become bipedal]], if remaining ugly. The Magus of a Genestealer Cult ''does'' appear almost entirely humanoid but is one of the most dangerous and inhuman members of the cult.
68	** From the same game and ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy Battle'', men devoted to the hedonistic god/dess Slaanesh tend to take a much more feminine appearance (and are outright hermaphrodites for the most blessed), especially compared to the muscular brutes devoted to the WarGod Khorne. Thinking them weaker is often the last mistake you'll make, as their god-given enhancements are along the lines of enhanced senses and reflexes... much to the irritation of aforementioned muscular brutes, who see them as hedonistic wimps.
69	** Lucius the Eternal, 40K's Champion of Slaanesh was once TheFightingNarcissist of the Emperor's Children Legion (itself composed of pretty boys) and proud of his beauty. Though he received two scars that could not be healed, and after the Legion fell to Slaanesh worship, he continued to scar himself to the point where his head is a hideous mass of scars.
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72	[[folder:Video Games]]
73	* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'': Super Mutant Behemoths are 20-foot tall DumbMuscle brutes with ScaryImpracticalArmor who only wield fire hydrant hammers as weapons. ''Broken Steel'' adds Overlords, which are closer in size and intelligence to the standard Mutants, but with HP near that of a Behemoth and much deadlier weapons such the Tri-Beam Rifle and Gatling Laser.
74	* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
75	** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', the MegaCorp Shin-Ra has two types of soldier working for it. The first is the ordinary guy with a rifle and a [[FacelessGoons full-face helmet]]. The second is a willowy, funny-haired {{Bishonen}} with a sword. Guess what type is the SuperSoldier?
76	** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'''s Trema, the resident OptionalBoss of Via Infinitio, a dungeon full of increasingly ugly monsters, is a perfectly normal-looking Unsent.
77	* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'': The leader of the orc-like, reptilian Locust horde is Queen Myrrah, who looks like [[http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/gearsofwar/images/c/c3/Queen_Myrrah_Gears_3_Art.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20120124065908 an attractive human woman.]]
78	* ''VideoGame/KanColle'': Abyssal destroyers, the weakest enemy warship in the game, are vaguely whalelike. Cruisers and light carriers are humanoids with varying level of BodyHorror, ranging from GlowingEyesOfDoom under broken helmet to giant turret-carrying tentacles growing out of the waist. Battleships and fleet carriers look largely human-like, resembling cute girls with monstrous riggings growing out of their backs or heads, while most of the Abyssal oni/demons and princesses, the strongest enemies in the game, are nearly indistinguishable from human apart from UndeathlyPallor, [[HornedHumanoid horns]] and hoses/parts on their backs that connects them to their mechanical beast riggings.
79	* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'': the Sonic Boom user was Guile who has a very angular face, chiseled jaw, and huge flattop. He needed both hands to use the move. Then ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha'' came and Guile was replaced with Charlie who wears glasses, has a more handsome face and can do the move one handed. Then ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'' gave us the bishonen Remy, who can do the move one handed high and low.
80	* In the episodic computer game ''VideoGame/TimeRunners'', the main character (a teenager from Earth) travels through time and dimensions to fight monstrous "Chronodemons": a robot, a cyborg, a sentient spider, a necromancer, a mutated human and a zombie pharaoh. For the final duel, is pitted against the creator of the Chronodemons: an exact lookalike of him.
81	* In ''VideoGame/XCOM2'', the strongest alien type is the [[spoiler:Avatar]], which looks just like an androgynous human with a mask. It is made from an artificial body using human genes after all.
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Context Main / ThePrettyGuysAreStronger