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Bokukko

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A Bokukko is, literally, a girl who uses the first-person Japanese Pronoun boku, primarily used by boys and young men. Even with Japanese speech patterns becoming more gender-neutral over the years, this would be considered unusual in real life; nonetheless, it is a common character quirk in anime and Japanese Video Games.

Most bokukko are tomboys, but not all; sometimes it just indicates that the user is a Plucky Girl or unaware of social norms. In particular, a Farmer's Daughter or Fiery Redhead is likely to speak like this. Although none of this has to be reflected in her appearance, bokukko are usually either flat-chested, athletic, or extremely well-endowed.

This speech pattern can also be used to keep a character's gender obscured — is that a boyish girl, or a girlish boy?

A related but somewhat rarer character type is the Orekko (AKA Ore-onna), who refers to herself with the Hot-Blooded/macho ore — such characters are almost invariably The Lad-ette, Farmer's Daughter, or women using Antiquated Linguistics dating back to Edo era. The Gender Inverted version of this is a boy using extremely feminine pronouns like atashi or their own name, typically used to mark he's using an Antiquated Linguistics of an Edo-era Intrepid Merchant in a Honest John's Dealership, In Touch with His Feminine Side, clownish, Camp, or at worst, often a Sissy Villain.

When a bokukko permanently switches to a more feminine pronoun, it's usually significant. When the show is dubbed, however, this will invariably lead to a Dub-Induced Plot Hole due to English first-person pronouns lacking such hints.

The phenomenon of bokukko should not be confused with the tendency of female singers to use boku in their songs' lyrics. This usage is purely for metrical reasons, and does not indicate how they see themselves.

See also Cute Bruiser and Shorttank. Since this trope is weird in real-life Japanese society, it may overlap with Asian Rudeness.

Not to be confused with the manga Boku Girl, whose title is a pun on this phrase (which almost literally means "boku girl"), but is not exactly a straight example.


Please do not add examples to work pages, this merely defines the term. Put applicable examples in the following tropes instead:

  • Expository Pronoun: The way a character uses a specific pronoun indicates something about them.
  • She Is the King: A woman who takes up a traditionally masculine title.
  • Tomboy: A girl with traditionally masculine hobbies and personality traits.


Alternative Title(s): Ore Onna

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