Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context WesternAnimation / MyGiantFriend

Go To

1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linusandboomtvtropes_5638.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:From left to right: [[PluckyComicRelief the Beebees]], [[GentleGiant Boom]], [[GadgeteerGenius Taki]], [[BrainyBrunette Iris]], [[TheSmartGuy Monroe]] and [[TheHero Linus]].]]
3
4''My Giant Friend'' (''Linus et Boom'' in French) is a French-Korean [[AllCGICartoon CGI-animated show]] by Genao Productions. It aired on French TV in 2009 and was sold abroad under the title ''My Giant Friend''. It currently reruns on French channel Gulli.
5
6Set in 2042. The valiant members of the [[{{Megacorp}} Space Development Center (SDC)]] protect the Earth against those evil aliens who want to invade, control and eat innocent citizens...
7
8Well, at least, that's [[VillainWithGoodPublicity what they'd like you to believe]]. Truth is, under the rule of [[BigBad Number 9]], the SDC collects and enslaves any alien who has the misfortune to land or crash on Earth, turning them into LivingWeapon, in order to one day rule the whole galaxy.
9
10When a big red alien named Boom crashes on his balcony, the 12-year-old Linus has to hide him from the SDC. Thanks to [[{{Mentor}} Dr. K]], Linus acquires the Scire Swatch which allows him, [[SwissArmyWeapon among other things]], to put Boom under a human disguise at will. His friends [[CannotSpitItOut Iris]], [[BlackAndNerdy Monroe]] and [[BookDumb Taki]] soon join him in his mission to find aliens lost on Earth, free or protect them from the SDC, and safely send them back home. All of this while avoiding [[DarkActionGirl Chase]], the most feared agent of the SDC. Things gets more complicated when [[LovableAlphaBitch Jenny]], the girl Linus is in love with, develops a crush on Boom.
11
12The show has some similarities with the ''Franchise/Ben10'' franchise. The [[WordOfGod creators]] mentioned they got tired of young heroes slaughtering "monsters" without second thoughts and wanted to try something different. So their heroes do the opposite, protecting them. ''My Giant Friend'' tends to be [[MonsterOfTheWeek formulaic]] with many points left [[HandWave unexplained]] (the 12 minutes format ''clearly'' didn't help the storytelling) but it has quite the charm, with interesting designs (both for aliens, mechas and technology), good music and endearing characters (especially Iris and Chase). The first season had 52 episodes and ended with an obvious SequelHook. A second season was planned and already written but got cancelled due to disagreements between the French and Korean producers.
13
14Not to be confused with the show ''WesternAnimation/MyBigBigFriend''.
15----
16!!Examples of tropes in ''My Giant Friend'':
17
18* AbhorrentAdmirer: Sandborn is this to Chase. An Extremely RareMaleExample.
19** Linus has to manage a space princess slug who wants to marry him and won't take "no" as an answer.
20* AcePilot: Linus' dad
21* AllLoveIsUnrequited: Classical love square: Iris loves Linus who loves Jenny who loves Boom who is not interested in the least.
22* AlmostKiss: Between Linus and Iris.
23* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: Jenny's father.
24* AudienceSurrogate: Iris displays shades of this.
25* BigBad: Number 9, the head of the SDC. [[spoiler: Subverted in last episode, he is merely a pawn of [[GreaterScopeVillain Siderno]], an EvilOverlord who seeks to rule the galaxy.]]
26* BigEater: Boom.
27* BigNo: Linus gets a belated one when [[spoiler:Iris]] gets shot by Number 9.
28** A much more comical one occurs when [[spoiler:Sandborn]] takes the bullet for [[spoiler:Chase]].
29* BlackAndNerdy: Monroe.
30* BookDumb: Taki hates school and is actually repeating his year.
31* {{Brainwashing}}: The SDC controls the aliens it captures with a chip that modifies their will and behaviour.
32* BrainyBrunette: Iris has the best grades of Linus' class.
33* TheBully: Cornell is the show's resident bully.
34* ButtMonkey: Sandborn.
35** The Beebees also count.
36* CannotSpitItOut: Iris towards Linus. This doesn't stop her from doing her best to seduce him, though.
37* CasanovaWannabe: Sandborn joined the SDC to get more chances to catch women.
38* ChekhovsGun: One alien mentions at the beginning of an episode that he can't stand Iris' perfume. This becomes later a plot point: this is precisely what protects her from [[spoiler:his brainwashing pheromons]].
39* ChildHater: Chase. She even go as far to seriously claim she never was one, which [[ContinuitySnarl contradicts]] some elements of the series and is gold mine for [[EpilepticTrees fan theories]].
40* CityOfAdventure: Any alien who crashes on Earth [[SarcasmMode inexplicably]] lands in Cosmopolis, where both the SDC HQ and Linus' gang happen to be.
41* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Each character has a colour pattern:
42** Linus: blue
43** Boom: red
44** Iris: [[GracefulLadiesLikePurple purple]]
45** Monroe and Taki: dark and light green respectively
46** Jenny: [[PinkMeansFeminine pink]]
47** SDC agents and Cornell: [[DarkIsEvil black]]
48* CrapSaccharineWorld: The show is light-hearted and colourful, but there are media manipulation, brainwashing, and even hints that the SDC engineered a dictatorship.
49* CrushBlush: Linus, Iris, Monroe, Taki... Anyone who gets a LoveInterest, be it temporary or more lasting.
50* DarkActionGirl: Chase is the best agent of the SDC, smart and very proficient in diverse areas. [[CompetenceZone She gets defeated each episode nonetheless]].
51* DefectorFromDecadence: Linus' Dad, again.
52* {{Demonization}}: Standard method of the SDC propaganda against aliens.
53* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Iris]] and [[spoiler:Sandborn]].
54* DisproportionateRetribution: In episode 44, "Larva", a titular character wants do destroy an entire planet (''Earth'') ''just because Taki insulted her''.
55* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: We get to see some of the SDC's educational anti-alien propaganda. It's quite reminiscent of nazi antisemitic propaganda.
56* DroolHello: The Multiplex, at one point.
57* EasyAmnesia: Happens to an alien who crashed on Earth.
58** Ditto for Chase in one episode.
59* EvenEvilHasStandards: In the [[TwoPartEpisode two-part]] SeasonFinale, when Chase and Sandborn learn that Number 9 wants to [[spoiler: use the Omega Ray to destroy an alien planet]], they turn against him.
60* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Almost everyone knows that Iris is in love with Linus. When rejuvenated, it takes Chase less than an hour to figure it out, according to her own words.
61* EvilOldFolks: Number 9 is visibly old.
62* {{Expy}}: Iris is very similar to [[Franchise/HarryPotter Hermione]]. While Linus is a redhead, hmmm...
63* ExtremeOmnivore: Given his alien biology, Boom can eat and actually finds devices made of metal or plastic delicious.
64* FantasticRacism: Most of the population swallows the propaganda of SDC and believe all the aliens are evil and a threat to humans.
65* FirstKiss: Viciously subverted. Technically it occurs in ep44, between Iris and Linus, but he can't remember it. Then again in ep52, but this time it's Iris who cannot remember it. And in between, there's been an AlmostKiss. So the two already kissed ''twice'' but [[TrollingCreator technically still didn't share their proper first kiss]].
66* {{Foil}}: Linus and Sandborn are both redheaded guys who are particularly clumsy and oafish in their attempts to woo the girl they want.
67* ForgottenFallenFriend: Averted. [[spoiler:Hally]] comes back as the face of the HQ computer.
68* GeekyTurnOn: Monroe becomes even more smitten with Stella when she demonstrates how gifted she is in maths.
69* GentleGiant: Boom.
70* GalacticConqueror: Spoofed in the episode "Gabotz the Conqueror".
71* TheGlassesGottaGo: Chase goes to her date without her glasses. She doesn't seem embarrassed in the least.
72* GreaterScopeVillain: Siderno, the force behind the Number 9, and the one who ordered him to create [[spoiler:Omega Ray]], a planet-destroying weapon. [[TheUnseen He doesn't actually appear]], but his voice is heard only in last episode.
73* HopelessSuitor: Linus towards Jenny.
74* HumanoidAliens: Most of the time, and also Caninoid once.
75* HumansAreUgly: Several aliens say it, even [[AbhorrentAdmirer one]] who wants to marry Linus.
76* TheIllegal: Chase says she works for the SDC because she thinks illegal aliens are a threat.
77* ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy: The SDC agents and mooks rarely hit.
78* InSeriesNickname: The alien form of Boom is called "transgenic tomato" by the SDC, even if they perfectly know from which species and planet he is.
79* InterspeciesRomance: Monroe once fell in love with a girl who was an alien in disguise. It didn't change his feelings, and she reciprocated before going home.
80** Happens later to Taki.
81* InvisibleParents: Save for Linus' parents (with his father appearing only twice), we don't see any of the gang's parents. Neither their home, for that matter.
82* JerkAss: Zotz steals ships (even those of his friends!) on a regular basis. He's also [[LeeroyJenkins reckless]] and won't listen to advice to to show prudence. He gets better after his introductory episode.
83* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Hally]], [[HauntedTechnology sort of]].
84* TheKlutz: Sandborn trips and falls at an alarming rate.
85* KidAnova: Cornell is this, and ''at least'' a three-timer.
86* LampshadeHanging: The most blatant is about the Beebees. Explicitly no one knows why they were in Boom's spaceship, nor why they stay on Earth. They're simply taken for granted.
87* LastNameBasis: Chase and Sandborn.
88* LimitedWardrobe: Everyone, save for Iris who appears in her orange dress twice.
89* LightningBruiser: Zotz is very fast yet can deal a great amount of damage.
90* LivingAphrodisiac: Joon, for the female humans. He's not a bad guy though.
91* LizardFolk: Zotz, one of Boom best friends.
92* TheLoad: Sandborn is abysmally dumb and incompetent. He only got his job as a SDC agent because he's Number9's nephew.
93* LovableAlphaBitch: Jenny acts like the class queen and doesn't hesitate to bluntly tell Linus she's way out of his league. In the same time, she has a crush on Boom, because he's honest and not concerned with being popular. She also sees through Cornell’s shallowness. This doesn't stop her from acting bratty and manipulative sometimes.
94* LoveConfession: Iris towards Linus in episode [[spoiler:44, "Larva"]]. Linus doesn't think it is meaningful out of this context, though.
95* MeaningfulName: What does Chase do for a living ? She's chasing aliens !
96* MechaMook: Chase and Sandborn are the only field agents we get to see. Each time they ask for reinforcements, the SDC sends in mecha mooks.
97* TheMenInBlack: The SDC is basically this, though they hunt aliens in plain sight and [[VillainWithGoodPublicity manipulate people]] rather than erasing their memories.
98* MissionControl: Monroe usually stays at the group base, providing info and hacking the SDC's system.
99* MomentKiller: Iris and Linus are about to kiss when Joon and Boom interrupt them.
100* MonsterOfTheWeek: Alien of The Week, more like.
101* NewTransferStudent:
102** More than one alien hid in Linus school this way.
103** The rejuvenated Chase and Sandborn use this ploy to infiltrate the school.
104* NoNameGiven: Most of the cast is only addressed by first or last name. As a consequence, we only know the complete name of Linus and his family ([=McLoon=]) and Andy Sandborn.
105* ObliviousToLove: Linus doesn't have a clue that Iris loves him, to the snarky annoyance of his friends.
106* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Number 9’s true name is unknown, despite being Sandborn's uncle.
107** Same with Chase.
108* OverlyLongTongue: The Multiplex.
109* PaintedOnPants: Chase, due to the CGI art.
110* ParentService: Chase is very sexy, with HartmanHips, chest in a tight shirt, and an ImpossibleHourglassFigure. She's always in high heels and has a fiery character.
111* PinkMeansFeminine: Chase's blasters tend to be pink, even if they're in no way girly.
112* PlotDrivenBreakdown: The Swatch of Scire runs low on energy only when the plot requires it. There's no discernible scale of energy consumption of its various functionalities. One may think Linus is simply careless.
113* PluckyComicRelief: The Beebees are UglyCute, small, dumb, with an inflated ego and make toy noises. They also can be of an actual help once in a while.
114* ThePowerOfLove: Iris manages to break Linus free from a LovePotion spell [[spoiler:[[TrueLovesKiss by kissing him]]]].
115** Linus makes Iris escape the influence of [[spoiler:Joon]] pheromones with a sincere LoveConfession and an AlmostKiss. He [[ItDoesntMeanAnything denies it was genuine moments later]], to Taki and Boom's furor. He makes up for it by taking Iris home.
116** There's also a species of aliens whose lovers literally die if they stay apart for too long.
117* PragmaticVillainy: Chase proposes to save a captured Sandborn, not out of affection, but because the exchange may be an occasion to catch more aliens.
118* PurelyAestheticGlasses: Chase didn't need glasses when she was a child (if she ever was one), and she's too young (28) to have presbyopia.
119* [[RedRightHand Green Right Hand]]: Number 9 has an engrafted green alien arm as his right forearm.
120* RomanceArc: Between Linus and Iris. It doesn't appear in most of the episodes, though. Interesting in that this is pretty much the sole true arc which goes on throughout the whole season. We learn that Iris is in love with Linus in Ep.1 and the story is about how he will realize he loves her. It's pretty well done and very cute, and actually more interesting than the almost non-existent and unbuilt MythArc. One could even say this is Iris' story rather than Linus'.
121* RunningGag: Coconuts regularly appear out of nowhere for comical effect.
122* SelectiveObliviousness: There's no other way to properly explain how Linus can ask Iris to [[spoiler:ask Jenny if she fancies him]] 7 episodes after [[spoiler:the brunette kissed him]].
123* SequelHook: Everything looks fine with [[spoiler:Number 9 ousted from the SDC and under arrest]]. Then once alone, the new boss gets a PsychoticSmirk and a RedEyesTakeWarning...
124* SheCleansUpNicely: Chase and Iris, in the same episode. Each has a date in the same café, respectively with Linus and a [[spoiler: disguised alien]] guy.
125* ShipTease: Between Iris and Linus. The latter gradually becomes aware of his feelings towards her and there's blushing, hugging and even kissing, though the RelationshipUpgrade doesn't occur due to external meddling.
126* ShipperOnDeck: Linus friends wonder when he will hook up with Iris and often make comments about it in his presence.
127* ShoutOut:
128** But of course, be it visually or in the name of the alien species. One of the most visible is Chase destroying two mecha mooks, [[Film/TheMatrix Trinity]] style (ep19).
129** Boom once stormed a hall, [[WesternAnimation/StarWarsCloneWars Grievous style]] (ep4).
130** The room of the Omega Ray has a BottomlessPit suspiciously similar to the one where [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi Palpatine]] meets his end (ep52).
131* SmittenTeenageGirl: Jenny towards Boom.
132* SociallyAwkwardHero:
133** Thwarting the SDC nefarious plans is quite easy for our heroes. Meanwhile, Linus is ''terrible'' at trying to seduce Jenny.
134** Iris CannotSpitItOut towards Linus, though her approaches ar far more competent than his. Too bad he's usually too smitten towards Jenny (or gets distracted) to notice Iris. Even when she sports a [[SheCleansUpNicely little orange dress]].
135* SomethingAboutARose: [[RunningGag Mercilessly spoofed]]. Sandborn seems to always have a rose at hand in order to seduce women. It ''never'' works and often backfires.
136* StarfishAliens: Space mantis, space slugs and so on. There's even a parasitic one whose true form is gazeous.
137* SurroundedByIdiots: Given she works with [[TheDitz Andy]] [[TheLoad Sandborn]], Chase does this ''a lot''.
138* TakenForGranite: The special ability of the Rockyrock species.
139* TakingTheBullet: ''My Giant Friend'' loves this trope.
140** [[spoiler:Hally]] meets his end through this.
141** [[spoiler:Boom]] protects Zotz this way and gets captured as a result.
142** [[spoiler:Iris]] protects Linus from a laser.
143** [[spoiler:Sandborn]] of all people, to protect [[spoiler:Chase]].
144* {{Technobabble}}: All around the place to explain the future or alien tech. Biggest offenders are Monroe and [[MrExposition the Beebees]].
145* ThatPoorCat: One of the most heard StockSoundEffect.
146* TimeStandsStill: Ronk's power.
147* TranquilFury: Linus after Number9 hurts [[spoiler:Iris]].
148* TransformationSequence: OnceAnEpisode when Boom goes back to his alien appearance.
149* TransformingMecha: The SDC antigrav cars can transform into a giant mecha.
150* TrueLovesKiss: Explicitly said so, between [[spoiler:Linus]] and [[spoiler:Iris]]. It's [[spoiler:her]] initiative and [[spoiler:she]] goes ''boldly'' to save [[spoiler:him from an unwanted wedding]]. Note that [[spoiler:Linus]] wasn't totally aware of [[spoiler:his feelings towards Iris]] then. It works nonetheless, even if [[spoiler:he]] seems to [[StatusQuoIsGod have forgotten it the next episode]].
151* TsurimeEyes: Chase, which makes her look suspiciously Asian.
152* TwentyMinutesInTheFuture: The series takes place in 2042.
153* UltimateJobSecurity: Sandborn should have been fired countless times, but his status as Number9's nephew protects him.
154* TheUnreveal: Chase is about to reveal her first name to her date when she sees Sandborn and angrily screams his name.
155* VillainWithGoodPublicity: The SDC is quite popular thanks to its lies and manipulations.
156* WillTheyOrWontThey: Iris and Linus relationship gradually becomes this. At the end of the first season, it's clear it's only a matter of time.

Top