Plucky Girl

Running on pluck. Running on waves and pluck.

"Aren't you scared?"
"Oh, yeah. But while I'm mouthing off, I'm Feisty Heroine. Nothing bad happens to Feisty Heroine."

— Wisdom: Rudiments of Wisdom # 6

Plucky means "brave and optimistic".

You might be able to pile life complications onto this young woman/girl, to the point where the audience would forgive her if she just refused to go on. She might even have an episode or so where she does throw in the towel, because human beings can only take so much of what the universe is handing out for her. But the Plucky Girl always comes back. That's the bravery part.

The optimistic part is the rest of it. This character leans toward the sane version of The Pollyanna, blending the agency of the Action Girl with the sweetness and wise charm of the Spirited Young Lady, while exhibiting a strong sense of optimism and an unassailable spirit that differentiates her from the grimness of a Determinator. You can beat her, but damned if she'll let you break her.

Male versions exist, but they tend to be closer to Determinator territory instead, because men always have to be MANLY.

Female protagonists who are not straightforward Action Girls (and a good many who are) will be Plucky Girls because of the Anthropic Principle — if she's the protagonist and she gives up for good, the story gets cut short without resolution.

Not to be confused with Plucky Office Girl, though they may overlap once in a while.

---

Examples:

Anime & Manga

General:

• This trope is a staple of shoujo manga, especially Magical Girl shows. So the heroine is Book Dumb, ultra naive, a Butt-Monkey or is just starting with her mission and/or training in magic? The Powers of Love and Friendship will ultimately give her strength to keep on going! The Ur-Example, obviously, is Usagi from Sailor Moon.
• All the female leads created by Michiyo Akaishi are this in one way or another. Mio Mizumori tries to master her Making a Splash powers and protect herself from her Stalker with a Crush, Jeudi will never stop looking for the truth behind her lost family and get away from her own Stalker with a Crush, Shiho Kobayakawa perseveres in her Private Actress work, Aria Kanbara will keep working in her dream to be a musician...

By Title:

• Belldandy from Ah! My Goddess. Behind that soft and caring exterior lies a will of iron and a girl who will stand up to the devil herself for the sake of those she loves.
• In Asteroid in Love, Mira and Misa are polar opposites, but they share one thing in common: their insistence on self-reliance.
  • In the seventh chapter, Moe is going to tell Misa that Mira and Ao want to discover an asteroid together when Mira pulled Moe back, saying she'd rather do it by herself (i.e. without Misa's assistance).
  • Right after the previous scene, Mira gives Misa the banded stone she found during Chapter 4 as a good-luck charm for the latter's college entrance exams. While we immediately know Misa uses that for Mira's aforementioned Goal in Life, Chapter 31 revealed why Misa does that—she wants to do that herself.
• In Attack on Titan, Sasha Blouse's energetic disposition and pluckiness lands her here. As emphasized in her introduction: Shadis sentenced her to run until she collapses, and she does it without complaint. What got her upset was being denied any dinner. Sasha later has several brushes with death, but never loses her optimistic nature.
• Casca from Berserk zigged in and out of this trope. She was first like this when Guts patronized her for being a weak female when she fell ill during her period, but she never let him get to her. After Guts returned after a year's absence when everything came crashing down for the Hawks, Casca had an emotional breakdown and nearly committed suicide, but Guts saved her and gave her some emotional strength while admitting their love to each other. After that, Casca more or less resumed her role as the strong female acting-leader of the Hawks, and even managed to keep her cool in the wake of a bad situation when the Eclipse began, and the Hawks were warped to another dimension. And then that bad situation turned worse. Casca did not come out very well — AT ALL.
• Noelle Silva of Black Clover. She refuses to give up in tough situations, convincing Nozel that the elf-possessed humans do not have to be killed and will be saved by them. She passionately asks Patry to help her and the other Magic Knights grow stronger to defeat the Spade Kingdom. When asked what makes her think they can become strong enough in little time, she states that giving up is even harder than getting stronger.
• Bleach:
  • After many, many ordeals and Break the Cutie episodes, both Rukia Kuchiki and Orihime Inoue end up graduating into this at different times.
  • In the Everything But The Rain arc, Masaki Kurosaki is this through and through. In a more quiet way, we may also count Kanae Katagiri.
  • Uryuu Ishida is also a very rare male version of this, being closer to this archetype than to the grim Determinator, and probably taking up cues from his Missing Mom aka the aforementioned Kanae Katagiri. It seems that his Face–Heel Turn has changed things, but then it' revealed that he's faking it.
  • Other plucky girls in this series are: Karin Kurosaki, Tatsuki Arisawa, Chizuru Honshou, Yoruichi Shihouin, Sui-Feng, Yachiru Kusachiji, Nanao Ise, Rangiku Matsumoto, Hiyori Sarugaki, Lisa Yadomaru, Mashiro Kuna, Tia Harribel and her Amazon Brigade (whose Villainous Valour was praised by Yamamoto before he nearly killed them), Senna from the first movie, Homura from the third movie, and recently Jackie Tristan and Riruka Dokugamine. As an Older and Wiser version, we have Kirio Hikifune.
• Kita from Bocchi the Rock! is such an overwhelmingly optimistic extrovert that her "Kit-aura" blinds the more introverted Bocchi and turns the cynical Seika to ash.
  Seika: Stop it. You're killing me.
• All of the girls in Bokurano have their plucky moments, specially Anko Tokosumi, Kana Ushiro and Youko Machi.
• Candace White "Candy" Andree from Candy♡Candy. She has her breakdowns, but as soon as she's back to her feet, she comes back stronger than ever.
• Cardcaptor Sakura: Sakura Kinomoto to some extent. While she is rather determined and frequently shows little concern for her own well-being, her disposition better resembles that of a real child under such situations, as such she does actually show fear and break down at times, relying on her friends' support to recover her strength.
• Case Closed has several: Ran Mouri, who either witnesses or is subjected to Break the Cutie many times but ultimately brings herself back; Sonoko Suzuki, who never loses her Genki Girl behavior for too long despite her amazingly bad luck; Masumi Sera, a Badass Biker bifauxnen who does her best to help her friends and look for her missing older brother, Miwako Sato, who is a physically and mentally strong Action Girl; Hina Wada, an Action Girl who believes in aliens and says she'd love to "have a heartfelt conversation with them using her fist" if they tried to invade...
• Code Geass:
  • Kallen Kouzuki When faced against the now practically superhuman Suzaku, she fights him to a standstill, reducing both of their machines to scrap before finally destroying Suzaku's machine with the very last blow she has left before her machine shuts down. Suzaku even wonders aloud how he can't beat her, even with his "live" Geass.
  • Euphemia li Britannia and Shirley Fenette also count. Doesn't work as well, though.
• Aura of Corsair boisterous, opinionated, and quick-tempered, and remains so even after she is kidnapped and threatened with execution.
• Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!:
  • Yumoto Hakone is a rare male example. He eagerly accepted his role as protector of the planet and he's usually the most proactive and energetic fighter during Monster of the Week battles.
  • Gora Hakone qualifies; it must be a family trait. His parents disappeared when he was young and he's had to raise his brother from infancy to adolescents by himself while running a business. Despite that, the brothers have a healthy relationship, the bathhouse provides stable income, and Gora remains mostly well-adjusted. That's not even counting his stint as a Magical Boy Warrior.
• In Dear Brother and specially in the anime verion, Tomoko Arikura is a perpetually feisty Genki Girl who supports her shy and sweet best friend Nanako no matter what and always does so with a huge smile.
• Mimi Tachikawa and Hikari Yagami of Digimon Adventure. In the second part Hikari's will falters once in a while but she ultimately recovers and stays as this, and she's also joined by Miyako Inoue and Jun Motomiya. Sora Takenouchi zigs in and out of the trope, specially in the first part, but in the end she played it more or less well.
• A Dog of Flanders (1975): Alois Cogez. Even after her father formally bans her from seeing Nello, she still visits on him on the day of the art contest and tells him she is praying for him. She frequently stands up to her father and insists on Nello's goodness, not caring if she gets punished.
• Katsuhiro Otomo's early manga Domu: A Child's Dream gave us Etsuko, a little girl with immense Psychic Powers she uses to battle a Psychopathic Manchild Serial Killer. All the while she is spunky and headstrong, first responding to seeing him psychically manipulate a baby to fall off the roof of the apartment complex with, "What an awful brat you are! Really now?!" and scaring the old man by using her powers to rattle the bench he is sitting on.
• Mai and Mami from Explorer Woman Ray, twin girls who travel to South America in search of hidden treasure, aiming to meet up with the Adventurer Archaeologist title character. Despite their youth, naivite and obvious inexperience, even being shot at by the bad guys in search of their stolen MacGuffin doesn't deter them.
• Fairy Tail:
  • Erza's an example of the more masculine Determinator trope.
  • Lucy is a more traditional example, as while she has cried in despair several times over the course of watching her friends and Celestial Spirits get hurt for her sake, losing her father and Never Got to Say Goodbye, losing her contract with Aquarius after breaking her key to save her friends, she still manages to pull herself together and remain cheery as ever.
  • Mavis Vermillion might be the pluckiest of all. For the record, her backstory is probably one of the most tragedy-filled of all the members of the members of Fairy Tail, and yet despite having been sent over the Despair Event Horizon after being cursed into an Enemy to All Living Things she still managed to come back as bright and compassionate as ever.
• Fatal Fury (anime):
  • Despite being helpless in combat and painfully knowing it, Sulia Gaudeamus keeps going on and doing her best to help Terry, Joe, Andy and Mai stop her evil brother, Laocorn, and save him from himself. And if she has to commit suicide to save him... she will.
  • Kim's wife, Myenungsuk. When Kim was in the receiving end of a Curb-Stomp Battle, she kept her cool and her trust in him, refusing to cry and break down for the sake of him and their kids as well as herself.
• Tohru Honda from Fruits Basket plays with this trope. She still is optimistic despite being orphaned, temporarily homeless, and living in a tent, bullied in the past, and helping a whole Dysfunction Junction with their trauma. Then we learn that this is her way of dealing with all the pain in her life—she's not exactly a Stepford Smiler, as she is sincerely happy often, but she also uses it as a way to keep from succumbing to grief and accepting that her beloved mother is gone. And then... it's reconstructed and reinforced: when a maddened and despaired Akito tries to definitely break her as the members of the Dysfunction Junction are being released of their curses... Tohru acknowledges that not so strong part of herself, accepts it, and manages to kindly speak to Akito and offer her kindness as well. This finally breaks the vicious cycle that has trapped the Sohma clan, and even when Tohru is severely injured after falling off the cliff she's standing, it kickstarts Akito's Heel–Face Turn, and helps Tohru herself to deal with her own suffering.
• Fuuka: Fuuka is an optimistic, energetic girl - and once she gets inspired, it would probably take a speeding truck to dislodge the idea from her head.
• Hajime Ichinose from Gatchaman Crowds. She's actually so cheerful and strongwilled that she can get Berg Katze to back off her case, simply because they is no darkness in her heart.
• Maya Kitajima and Ayumi Himekawa from Glass Mask. The first decides to fulfill her dream of being an actress despite how odds always go against her, the latter refuses to have things handed to her and wants be famous for her own merits.
• Hanako from Goodbye, My Rose Garden may be an easily flustered bookworm, but she's notably strong-willed and determined, speaking out against any injustice she witnesses or experiences. In her Establishing Character Moment, when a book publisher brushes off her attempts to contact the writer Victor Franks, with his justification being that Franks would be uninterested in a woman's "emotional" writing, Hanako snaps and tells him that she didn't cross an ocean simply to be mocked. The noblewoman Alice Douglas witnesses this outburst, and later cites Hanako's unshakeable will as the very thing that made her decide to hire her.
• Wendy Garret of GUN×SWORD has all the stubbornness of the Determinator combined with a sometimes inordinate amount of optimism. The introductory narrative to the second episode explicitly indicates that Wendy symbolizes hope in opposition to the despair of her partner, Van, but it wouldn't be hard to figure that out without the narration.
• Ohana Matsumae, the main character of Hanasaku Iroha, is an interesting take on this Trope in that her pluckiness is presented as both a weakness and a strength. On one hand, her optimism and sincere desire to help people lets her accomplish some good things, but on the flipside her tendency to dive headfirst into something without a solid gameplan does backfire on her from time to time.
• Hello! Sandybell: Sandybell Christie. She always stands up to the stuck up Kitty's bullying, and despite having barely any leads, she tries her best to find her biological mother.
• Most of the girls in Hetalia: Axis Powers. These're be comfirmed in their profile especially:
  • Belarus is described as one by Russia. But he quickly adds: "In a bad way."
  • Resident Lady of War Vietnam is one too, as her profile says she's "a very headstrong woman" and that "there are many strong women in her history".
  • Taiwan gets her profile in the fourth manga volume ("An island girl nation with a headstrong and easygoing personality!") She shows it via cheering up Vietnam, teasing her brothers, and interacting with all of them as an equal. "It's okay, us Taiwanese don't believe in bad fortunes!" It's confirmed by her Image Song, "Poipoipoi." 'Poi' means "poof," and it's used in-context as "making problems and bad luck go POOF!"
  • And throw Prussia inside for a rare male example.
  • Poland is an even better one. Who says that a Wholesome Crossdresser Valley Boy can't be unfailingly stubborn as well?
  • Korea, too. He will never ever give up chasing after his siblings, saying stuff "belongs to him" and being almost always unfailingly cheerful while doing so.
  • Ukraine's latest profile says that she "will stand her ground until the last," and in-comic Belgium seems to almost refer to herself as one.
    Belgium: I may be a bit plain, but I'm doing my best!
  • Word of God refers to Liechtenstein as mature and strong-willed. Considering that she handles her older brother Switzerland's mood swings rather calmly and skillfully, it's not an Informed Ability.
  • There's also Seychelles, who tries hard just to get people to know her name. She keeps doing it, and also manages to keep both England's arrogant behavior and France's lechery at bay.
  • Also the Principality of Wy, in a Little Miss Snarker way.
  • Even Monaco, the resident Ojou has shades of this with sketches of her in armor and having her profile describe her as someone who worries a lot, but gives off a proud impression. She also has an attitude like this when it comes to poker.
  • Belgium, too. She sometimes frets over her Aloof Big Brother Netherlands, but most of the time she keeps her bright smile and her teasing, cheerful behavior no matter what.
  • The example in the series, however, is Hungary. Shown clearly not just in the profile, but in her interaction with pretty much everyone: she takes her Meido position in stride despite how it's not exactly easy, fights the aforementioned Prussia without hesitation, refuses to stay put when someone she dislikes is around...
• I Had That Same Dream Again: Nanoka has a bit of an attitude problem and tends to look down on her classmates for not seeing things like she does, but on the whole she is optimistic, courageous, and tries her best to help and encourage people.
• Hikaru No Densetsu: Hikari is determined to be an Olympian no matter what, and trains rigorously for the day she'll get to fight for the World Cup. Her inspiration is the Real Life celebrity Diliana Georgieva, who rose from an ordinary woman to being one Bulgaria's greatest athletes.
• Isabelle of Paris: Even though she's under house arrest and suspected of being a traitor, fifteen-year-old Isabelle Laustin becomes a double agent for France and rebels against the government by shaving her head and becoming a spy. She even has the audacity to walk up the Captain of the French military and Bitch Slap him.
• Inuyasha:
  • Kagome Higurashi has got self-esteem problems, is the reincarnation of a priestess who Came Back Wrong, her love interest can be a real jerk despite having a good heart, her friends have huge troubles of their own... and yet she stands by them no matter what. Sure, she has more than one breakdown, but she still stands by her friends and is more concerned with her love life and her grades.
  • Rin may not be much use in a fight, but let's face it, she's brave as hell. Heck, the first time she meets Sesshomauru she doesn't run screaming when he snarls at her but actually dumps water on him; and when Jaken's sick she climbs a mountain filled with demons to find a cure for him, without a second thought.
• Jeanie With The Light Brown Hair: Jeanie. Diana won't let her go to medical school? She argues and convinces her to agree. The children at the orphanage play pranks on her and don't trust her? She pranks them back and impresses them, and they become her friend. A child goes missing? Jeanie convinces everyone to help find them using betting money as a reward. No matter what obstacle appears, Jeanie is ready to throw herself at it and win.
• Kaleido Star:
  • Sora Naegino practically embodies this trope. No matter how much Training from Hell she is put through or what sort of abuse she receives, she always manages to pull through using sheer optimism and determination. And if she feels her strength sapping away, she will soon recover it. It's also kind of a plot point, as if she stays down for too long, she will stop seeing Fairy Companion Fool and completely lose her chance.
  • May Wong becomes this once she gets over her Jerkass phase. Anna Heart, Mia Guillem, Rosetta Passel and Katie Taylor are already there, and the backstory gives us Sophie Oswald.
• Nanami Momozono from Kamisama Kiss. Her defining character trait, besides Chronic Hero Syndrome, is that she likes to see other people happy and will go out of her way to make them happy. Even if it means that she has to get hurt or sacrifice something to make it so.
• Katri, Girl of the Meadows: Katri Ukkonemei is a headstrong Finnish girl who's strength inspires others. She never learned how to read, so she taught herself by constantly visiting Palki Village's library, and works her way into getting a scholarship despite being a mere Farmers Girl.
• While Ryuko Matoi from Kill la Kill is more of a female Determinator, her Only Friend Mako Mankanshoku is this through and through. She always comes out of any situation with a smile on her face, no matter what. She's pushed to her limits when sharing a stand with the demoted Elite Four while cheering Ryuko on during the King of the Hill Final Battle, resorting in her cheering for herself so she won't crack under the pressure.
• Yuriko of Kotoura-san. Nothing seems to stop this fiercely determined young woman in her quest to change society's views against Psychic Powers.
• Madoka Kyouno from Lagrange: The Flower of Rin-ne, going so far as to sing in the cockpit during a mecha battle... the same battle in which she deliberately tries to keep collateral damage to areas she knows to be empty of bystanders (such as the lot of a recently demolished house or a shop that had gone out of business the week before). Considering the genre she's in, she angsts remarkably little - and even when she does, she shrugs it off quickly and jumps right back to the other extreme on the optimist-realist scale. It is later revealed that she wasn't always like this: after her mother's death, Madoka was a depressed wreck until her cousin inspired her into the energetic girl always ready to help everyone regardless of what needs to be doing. Truly, Madoka's motto in life is Jumped at the Call: she doesn't pilot because she has to, she pilots because she wants to help.
• Lady!!: In spite of her mother's death and her grandfather refusing to accept her for being half-Japanese, Lynn strives to be accepted in the Russell family no matter what. Initially, she was broken by learning her father would formally marry her Wicked Stepmother and tried to escape back to Japan to prevent it from happening. When her father asks that she stay and breaks it off, Lynn works on being accepted through her own merits - and eventually does when she wins the Lady's Crest and represents Great Britain in the Olympics, even saving the Russell family house thanks to a bet she made with Victor Reynolds. Finally, her grandfather accepts her.
• Simone of La Seine No Hoshi is just a peasant girl ( Really Royalty Reveal or so she thought), but from studying under Duke de Forges, she becomes a vigilante that kicks the tar out of France's corrupt elite regularly.
• Lakshu from Legend of Heavenly Sphere Shurato. She can't fight, the Goddess/mother figure she's a priestess of is Taken for Granite, her crush and her friends get hurt and/or die as they try to restore her... and Lakshu will help no matter what.
• Lucy-May of the Southern Rainbow: Lucy-May is this constistently. Arthur says she can't have a dingo unless it's trained? She domesticates it. She can't speak to Hercules because of the Language Barrier? She communicates non-verbally. No matter what problem she faces, Lucy-May always tries to solve it.
• Macross Delta: Freyja Wion. Even her homeworld declaring war on the rest of the galaxy (indirectly exiling her from it), being involved in the middle of multiple war zones as part of her career, and finding out her love interest's father bombed her homeworld ultimately do not stop her from pursuing her dream to sing with the idol group Walkure, even if they do take her aback, and she ultimately holds her energetic personality and kind heart to the end.
  • She follows her predecessor, Ranka Lee, in this regard. While Ranka is significantly less energetic, she is no less determined to be an idol and pursue her dreams (and her love interest Alto), even despite her Dark and Troubled Past and frequent setbacks.
• Anju Kitahara from Marmalade Boy, a quiet Yamato Nadeshiko who handles her ill girl and Love Hurts problems with amazing strength.
• Sayaka Yumi from Mazinger Z: Her mother was dead. Her father cared for her, but he was Married to the Job and nearly never was there for her. the guy she liked was a sexist jerk (okay, Jerk with a Heart of Gold). One of her classmates was a borderline Stalker with a Crush. And her country -and the whole world- was under attack of a Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds and Mad Scientist who took lessons from Hitler. And she still was brave, hopeful and optimistic, not allowing anything got her down for long -she had several Heroic BSoD moments, but they did not last long-, and trusting they would win and things would get better, not matter what.
• Relena Peacecraft, Hilde Schbeiker, Sally Po, Cathy Bloom, Long Meiran and Lucrezia Noin from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. All of these young women knew they were getting into huge messes, and that they'd likely not get out of there alive (and Meiran ultimately died), but neither gave up on their purposes.
• Mobile Suit Gundam 00:
  • A dark example is Nena Trinity. While throwing the V-Sign around, she absolutely refuses to give up her quest for three things: revenge, survival and (after achieving those) happiness, even in the face of death. She doesn't succeed, as her early screw ups catch up with her.
  • A lighter example is Mileina Vashti, almost always plucky and happy despite being caught in the middle of a war. She lives to tell. Also Mileina's Onee-sama and fellow bridge bunny, Feldt Grace. She gets very broken in season 1, then some more in season 2, but also pulls through and lives.
• Ochaco Uraraka from My Hero Academia was deliberately written this way in order to have a more natural relationship with the more pessimistic and self-conscious main character, Izuku Midoriya.
• Naruto:
  • Hinata Hyuuga. Her other theme, aside from her nice, gentle personality and her love for Naruto, is her self-improvement and shredding her Shrinking Violet side. She's one of the first people to adopt Naruto's ninja way: knowing that he's watching, she refuses to give up against Neji despite severe injuries, even standing up one last time after the referee ends the match to keep her from getting killed. She reaffirmed her pluckiness by doing what she could to protect Naruto from Pain, fully knowing that this might be her last stand. The manga made it both awesome and heartbreaking, the anime made it doubly awesome and doubly heartbreaking.
  • Also Sakura Haruno. See her fights vs Ino (where she deliberately pressed Ino's Berserk Button to avoid getting sympathy and broke Ino's Mind Switch Jutsu, albeit with a little help from Naruto's cheering) and Sasori (where she got serious injuries and kept fighting anyway).
• Many girls from Negima! Magister Negi Magi qualify, but Nodoka surpasses them all. Every time she's encountered an enemy, despite having no combat skills whatsoever, her first reaction is to get out her artifact and fight, even when up against opponents completely out of her league, even when everyone else is panicking, lost in despair, or running away, even when she only just figured out that magic even exists. In the middle of the battle between Fate's party and Ala Alba at Ostia instead of retreating with the rest of the party she forced Kotarou to take her right in front of Fate so she could get his true name and then interrogated him as he was attempting to petrify her. And of course, when everything went wrong and several of her friends were erased from existence right in front of her by one of the most powerful characters in the entire series she gets up, steals HIS artifact, downloads the instruction manual from his brain, and teleports away so she can tell the rest of Ala Alba they're taking the battle to the enemy.
• One Piece:
  • Nami despite her horrific childhood and being a Damsel in Distress on occasion has displayed Plucky Girl qualities since she was little and is still highly adventurous and bold as a grown woman. Even when Overshadowed by Awesome she’s proved be invaluable and supportive crewmate even when the Straw Hats have suffered a humiliating defeat such as in Water 7.
  • Vivi’s greatest trait is her nigh-unbreakable optimism and pluck even when faced with the massive threat of criminal organisation ripping her country apart from within. Her wild bravery has freaked out her guardian Igaram (who fears Vivi will become a pirate) and inspired her friends the Straw Hats to save her country.
  • Kaya, after having spent an arc Delicate and Sickly recovers and journeys out of her village determined to become a doctor, inspired by Usopp whom she adores.
  • Deconstructed with Tashigi who is a Plucky Girl, but this attitude gives her the terrible habit of picking fights with people that are way out of her league, especially ones such as Robin or Law, who have powers that easily render Tashigi's own abilities useless.
• Ringo Oginome and Masako Natsume from Penguindrum. Himari graduates into this on episode 18, which also shows us exactly how indomitably plucky the deceased Momoka was.
• Pokémon Adventures:
  • When told that the boy who rescued her two years ago has gone missing (and hasn't seen since), Yellow immediately agrees to go out and look for him despite the fact that she barely knows anything about Pokemon battling.
  • Green could also count. She's usually upbeat and optimistic despite having some of the worst luck ever. Especially at the beginning of the FireRed/LeafGreen arc, where her parents disappear right in front of her (though that trauma does give her a Heroic BSoD for a while).
• Pick any Magical Girl Warrior from Pretty Cure. There are lots to choose from, and chances are that they are as good with their fists as they are with their magic and are completely unafraid to prove it against anybody from the Monster of the Week to the Big Bad himself. Standout examples include Nagisa Misumi/Cure Black, Saki Hyuuga/Cure Bloom, Nozomi Yumehara/Cure Dream, Urara Kasugano/Cure Lemonade, Miki Aono/Cure Berry, Erika Kurumi/Cure Marine, Hibiki Hojo/Cure Melody, Miyuki Hoshizora/Cure Happy, Yayoi Kise/Cure Peace, Mana Aida/Cure Heart, Alice Yotsuba/Cure Rosetta, Megumi Aino/Cure Lovely, Hime Shirayuki/Cure Princess, Haruka Haruno/Cure Flora, and Ichika Usami/Cure Whip.
• Tomoka Osakada from The Prince of Tennis never ever loses her smile, her stubborness, and her will to support Seigaku and her beloved Ryoma through thick and thin. An Tachibana from Fudomine is somewhat more serious, but she's not to be trifled with either.
• Puella Magi Madoka Magica:
  • Sayaka Miki. Shame that it's that kind of world, as it doesn't end too well for the poor "hero of justice". Fortunately for her (and many others), in the Grand Finale Madoka graduates to one... and is so powerful and strong that she rewrites the universe itself, and grants Sayaka a much more peaceful end.
  • Hitomi Shizuki is referred as such by her seiyuu Ryōko Shintani, as well as by Aoi Yūki (Madoka) and Chiwa Saitō (Homura). She's an interesting example in how this trope has both strengths and flaws: she always smiles and tries to be there for her friends, but the time Hitomi tries to directly resolve a conflict via making both Sayaka and herself face their shared feelings for Kamijou, she commits a huge mistake.
  • Puella Magi Oriko Magica:
    • As opposed to the main series, Sayaka does get to play this straight here, especially via protecting herself and Hitomi during the witch attack on their school. Too bad they can't save Madoka.
    • Speaking of Oriko Magica we've got Yuma Chitose. "Someday is not today", indeed.
  • From Puella Magi Kazumi Magica, there is Kazumi herself. She found out that she's a clone, her friends are betraying her, and her memory is all lies. All she needs is some food, and then she bounces back.
• Pollyanna: Pollyanna Whittier is determined to remain a Blithe Spirit no matter what, and invents The Glad Game to keep her head high in the face of whatever life throws at her. And boy, does it throw a lot.
• Ranma ½: There was a time when Ukyo wanted vengeance against Genma Saotome for renegging on his promise to wed her to Ranma, by abandoning her. And despite having caught up to them (years later), she's no closer to achieving her goal of becoming Ranma's bride. You'd think she'd be crushed, but she's actually... kinda okay with it. After all, he calls her "his cute fiancee" and she gets to attend class with him. For her, it's a start. In the meantime, she runs a successful business and tries to think of mostly nonviolent ways to absolve Ranma's engagement to Akane, by trying to pair Akane off with Ryoga.
• Kiku Takane from Ring ni Kakero, who will always support and look after her little brother Ryuuji and work hard to guide him through their shared dream of reaching the World Boxing Championship.
• Juliet Capulet from Romeo × Juliet who has more moments of Break the Cutie than her play counterpart. The poor girl's parents were killed when she was both dethroned and forced to be a Noble Fugitive at a young age, forced to dress as a boy most of her life, then being shocked and unprepared as she remembers her parents' death was forced and expected by her guardians to lead a revolution when she's not ready to. And to top it all off, she falls in love with the son of the man who killed her parents and though she has a moment of giving up and wishing she was dead she still retains her sweet lively fiery and lighthearted personality and is eventually ready to lead a revolution.
• The Sacred Blacksmith has Cecily, who in the anime, despite losing and needing saving a lot, never stops practicing and fighting.
• Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon could definitely be considered a rare male example. He'll face monsters of the week and the Quirky Miniboss Squad just as quickly as the girls, and his faith and encouragement of Usagi is often key to saving the day.
• Saori Kido aka Athena from Saint Seiya. And the same goes to the Athena that came before her, Sasha from Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas. Both girls are the local Barrier Maidens and go through quite the Break the Cutie, but refuse to give up.
• Cleao Everlasting from Sorcerer Stabber Orphen will not let Orphen go kill himself before he returns her the Sword of Baltanders that her father gave her before dying, and which he needs for a very important quest. So what if she has to tag along with him and his apprentice Majic despite all the dangers it'll bring to her? She will follow them, become the Team Mom, and pull through no matter what.
• Ai from Sunday Without God is brave, optimistic, and determined, and she goes out her way to help those in need. Of course, since she's resolved to save the world God has abandoned, this is the attitude she needs.
• Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann:
  • Nia Teppelin will tell you she's not going to die. To your face. While you're shoving a pistol into her forehead. Or about to snap her in half with your claws. Or about to demateralize her. She may not be able to fight you, but she will tell you to fuck off (only very politely), because Simon's on his way, and that's a wave of pain you don't want to happen.
  • Yoko, who went on and stayed as a cheerful, reliable and protective Cool Big Sis despite all the shit that happened to the Dai-Guren Brigade.
• Tiger & Bunny:
  • Pao-Lin/Dragon Kid and Karina/Blue Rose. Dragon is a headstrong Little Miss Badass who goes all out in superheroing; Rose hates the raw deal she got as a heroine but keeps going on because it lets her save lives.
  • As of episode 21, Kaede Kaburagi has graduated into this. So her beloved father was framed and she has just found out he's a superhero? Kaede immediately decides to go help him with her budding powers. And this is a ten year old girl.
• Queen Shushou from The Twelve Kingdoms. Youko, Shoukei and Suzu don't start terribly plucky, but Character Development soon fixes that.
• Several girls from Vampire Knight - specially Yuuki, Yori and Fuuka before she dies.
• Keiko Yukimura from YuYu Hakusho. While she's usually a Neutral Female, it's pretty amazing she pulls through after all the traumatizing events her boyfriends' life/career puts her in. In the manga, she didn't hesitate to ask to be taken to the Dark Tournament when she found out Yusuke had gone there. She may be a bit frailer in the anime, but she still does her best to be there for her friends when needed. To different degrees there's also Yukina, Shizuru, Botan, Ayame, Hinageshi from The Movie, Kokou, Natsume, the Lady Doctor aka Yuusuke's ancestor and Mukuro.

Comic Books

• The Avengers:
  • Mockingbird, while more cynical than most examples, has also suffered so much that it'd be insane for her not to be cynical. Listing everything she's suffered would be a pretty big wall of text, but they include being raped, tortured, abducted, stalked, divorced, shunned by her own family, and yet she's pretty eager to just get back into the action and still cracks jokes all the while, and despite the tortures she's suffered, she's typically one of the fun ones of any group she's with.
  • Founding member The Wasp: losing her dad is what spurred her onto becoming a superhero, but she didn't become an angsty vengeance seeker, instead becoming the plucky idealist of the group. After her bitter divorce from her husband after his mental breakdown though, during which she was physically assaulted and left humiliated, she decided to commit to heroism more and took leadership of the team, turning the low point of her life into the start of her high-point. She's suffered still since, most notably spending time trapped in another universe believed dead by her friends and family, but still remains one of the most hopeful of the team, if not The Heart at times.
• Batman: Stephanie Brown, the third Batgirl. Her ex-con of a father is starting to cause trouble again? Her mother's an addict? Her dad's trying to kill her? The father of her baby abandons her and she almost dies during delivery? The boy she's got her eyes on and who happens to be Robin's not interested in her? Batman tries to get her to quit being a crimefighter again and again - then fires her as Robin? She gets tortured, humiliated and almost killed and is forced to leave Gotham to heal? ... C'mon, you don't actually think that's gonna stop her, do you?
• Empowered could be considered a Reconstruction of this trope; the superheroine, Emp, continuously tries to be a hero despite having an abysmal track record of getting tied up and humiliated at virtually every turn. She does not simply ignore or brush off the failures, nor does she dispute that being repeatedly rendered a powerless, sexualised toy of thugs and supervillains despite her very best efforts is deeply traumatic, (she openly admits to having nightmares about being tied up, but says they're not so bad because she can wake up from them, unlike the countless times it's happened to her in real life) and she spends a fair amount of time in each volume sobbing uncontrollably. However, because the few times she does win are spectacularly awesome enough to see her through the bad times, and because every time she dons the suit she convinces herself that maybe it won't happen this time, she remains a Nice Girl with Heroic Willpower who is noted by a growing number of characters to be vastly stronger than many more badass characters who seldom have to deal with humiliation and helplessness.
• Luke Pearson's Hilda doesn't let trolls, giants, or big scary dogs get her down.
• Mary Jane Watson from Spider-Man. Although she's gone through some rough patches and worries more than most examples of this trope, she is still the type of character that will have no qualms about beating a B list hero with a baseball bat or bringing Peter out of slum with some helpful optimism.
• X-Men:
  • Kitty Pryde, the Trope Codifier for comic books. Parents splitting up, new school, new freaky powers that somehow aren't quite as useful as the powers of your new classmates, and a demon attack on your first Christmas there? Not a problem! It Gets Worse? She gets over it.
  • Jubilee. From about middle school age on life has constantly tried to crap all over her but not the murder of her parents, homelessness, being separated from her surrogate father figure, being captured and tortured by anti-mutant government initiatives, having the boy you have a crush on blown up, being crucified, losing her powers, or being turned into a vampire will stop her from forging ahead and realizing that life's what you make of it, so why not make it fun. Though she gets cured of the vampirism part later.
  • Jean Grey has displayed these qualities many times; as a girl she was wild and happy until her friend Annie was run over and died in her arms filling Jean with despair as her Mutation activated. Thanks to Professor X, Jean was able get out of her depression by showing her happiness and optimism still inside her mind. Even after countless hardships Jean has held onto that optimism and been an emotional anchor for the X-Men frequently.
  • Storm despite both her parents dying, getting buried under rubble, growing up the streets, leaving her Kenya tribe whom worship her as a goddess to go America and join the X-Men where she will be spurned and hated, having her beloved mentor killed and then shortly after her husband divorcing her - Ororo has never lost that plucky determination to carry on she’s had since she was a girl on the streets of Cairo.
  • Rogue to a mixed degree; she started off a scared and depressed girl who managed to find self confidence and become so wild she got her monicker “Rogue” after causing so much trouble and running away from home. After pulling a permanent Heel–Face Turn to the X-Men, Rogue constantly displays her vivacious pluck with only the occasional bouts of sadness over her Touch of Death power though even after countless hardships she’s managed to remain strong. Her film counterpart however, sadly doesn’t quite evolve past the “scared and depressed” stage.
  • X-23 of all X-Ladies becomes this in later comics, having thrown away well-justified stoicism and depression of her earlier comic years, she’s extremely upbeat to point of being The Cape. She remains strong even in face of her “father” Wolverine dying (he gets better) telling Storm the last thing he’d want is for her break down over his death.

Fan Works

• Ace Combat: Equestria Chronicles:
  • Cloud Kicker; for most of the time, whatever she's doing, she acts like a true optimist.
  • Then there is Rainbow Dash, who isn't afraid to tackle any kind of challenge, believing fully she'll be able to handle it.
• Annabelle Lennox in the Transformers (2007) fanfic Black Crayons. She's sweet and friendly, but she can be as brave and stubborn as her parents (or Ironhide) when she needs to. She sneaks her way into a warzone because she thought she needed to be there. Keep in mind that she's six years old at the time.
• Blood and Honor: Vette doesn't let torture, slavery, the uncertain fate of her family, the downtrodden state of her people, or anything else get her down for long. In the first few chapters of the story she faces near-certain death with unflinching bravery. She's certain that things will work out, one way or another, and on the off-chance they don't, she's determined to go down with her head held high and a good one liner.
• Kumiko of Despair's Last Resort. She's hyper and fun loving despite having to deal with trials and murder. The first murder does break her for a while, considering that the victim was her best friend Chiyo.
• Avalina in Hope for the Heartless (Disney's The Black Cauldron fanfic). After ending up in the Horned King's castle during one stormy night, she's forced to remain there as a prisoner who's not allowed to leave the lich's lands. She's permitted to say her farewells to her family and takes with her only her faithful Cool Horse. She comes close to death several times (because of the Horned King or otherwise), greatly misses her home and you'd want to hug her whenever she cries. Still she manages to keep going as the Horned King's Morality Pet.
• Chloe Cerise in Infinity Train: Blossoming Trail starts out as a Shrinking Violet in her world before she gets onto the Infinity Train where she quickly proves that with a bit of confidence and a steel pipe, that she can tackle any and all foes. By the time Act 2 starts, she's quite the determined warrior who is off to topple the Apex.
• Once Upon a Studio: Version 2.0: Cinderella and Rapunzel both this fit trope perfectly, as Cinderella is determined to turn the situation around following Goofy's failed first attempt. Both Fairy Godmother and Rapunzel take the initiative, as the former conjures a guitar for Rapunzel, while Raps herself begins playing a new rendition of "When You Wish Upon a Star".
  • And just before Cinders starts singing, she happily whispers to everyone else gathered; "here we go", as they all listen intently.
• Jana Teires in Tom Riddle's Schooldays. No misfortune stops her, or even slows her down for long.

Film — Animation

• A Bug's Life: Dot is shown to be incredibly determined, which allows her to fly.
• Many heroines in the Disney Animated Canon.
  • Rapunzel from Tangled. This trait was something that varied between scripts in development. In Rapunzel Unbraided, she was a plucky girl, but in the darker Rapunzel, she was more demure and anxious. In the final Tangled, she is very optimistic and chipper despite being locked up for eighteen years with no human contact besides her "mother".
  • Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck-It Ralph has enough spirit to power a jet fighter, reacts to her circumstances as The Pollyanna and is the Determinator in her dream of becoming a racer. She's probably this trope PERSONIFIED, because after all the bullying and abuse she's been through, she's still optimistic and happy. Wow.
  • Anna from Frozen. The traits that define her are her sheer optimism and energy. Similar fo the above-mentioned Rapunzel, in earlier versions of the film, Anna apparently lacked much of this. In the full version of the "That's no blizzard — that's my sister!" Missing Trailer Scene (which dates back to when Elsa was still the Big Bad), she showed fears about jumping off a mountain, and in the Cut Song "More Than Just A Spare", she has more self-confidence issues than in the final product.
  • Judy Hopps from Zootopia. No amount of discrimination will stop her from helping others. What temporarily brings her down is realizing her own unconscious bigotry actually made things worse for others.
• Dory from Finding Nemo and its sequel, Finding Dory. Despite having short-term memory loss, she remains extremely optimistic and her main saying is "Just keep swimming!".
• Intrepid Reporter Roxanne Ritchi from Megamind remains fearless despite being kidnapped by a supervillain almost every day.
• Miriam from The Prince of Egypt. Her optimism and her willingness to put herself on the line for what she believes in are pretty impressive considering she is a Jewish slave whose people have been under Egyptian oppression for 400 years.
• Wendy's daughter Jane from Return To Never Land is this Played for Drama. She strives to be a Plucky Girl but has forgotten what it means to be a child, since she comes from the England of World War II — so she has all the practicality but none of the enthusiasm. By the end, she has recovered her spirits and has morphed into a straight example.
• Meilin Lee from Turning Red is optimistic about what she can do to make the world a better place and determined to do her part in realizing that goal. After the Trauma Conga Line she endures in the first act, you wouldn't be surprised if she broke down — and in fact she does, for a while. But with the support of her friends she comes back strong. It quickly becomes clear that Mei always sees the best side of things, and she won't let anything stop her from achieving her goal-of-the-moment, whether it's getting top grades, entertaining the temple visitors, getting home to hide her red panda form, getting to the 4*Town Concert, or even fighting her mother's towering kaiju-panda form.

Film — Live-Action

• Giselle from Enchanted is this trope to the letter. When faced with the wildlife of New York City - gnats, pigeons, and cockroaches - she forces herself to smile and admit "Well, it's always nice to make new friends!"
• The girl Micha from a German film Stahlnetz PSI. She is kidnapped for ransom which her family cannot pay as it's not actuall rich and cannot escape on her own, but she still holds herself with dignity until the very end, (though she slowly begins to resign, but in her situation, it's hard not to; and she still doesn't break).
• James Bond:
  • Kara Milovy from The Living Daylights. She's left to be killed by her own boyfriend as part of his Evil Plan and a lot of craziness happens in between, but damn it, she takes it upon herself to help foil said plan and take said craziness in stride.
  • Paloma from No Time to Die. Very friendly, very enthusiastic, very deadly.
• The title character of The Journey of Natty Gann is bound and determined to find her father, and nothing is going to keep her from doing it, no matter how many people tell her that he abandoned her. She hops trains and hitchhikes from Chicago to Seattle, with little idea of exactly where her father is beyond "somewhere in Washington".
• Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) in Labyrinth won't give up her attempts to solve the Goblin King's seemingly-impossible maze and retrieve her baby brother.
• Star Wars: Rey in The Force Awakens. She was abandoned at the age of five on Jakku and is forced to work as a scavenger, but honestly believes that her family will return for her.
• The Third Saturday In October Part V: The outgoing and good-natured PJ, who will dance with outcasts to cheer them up and toss kitchen knives to her babysitter to help take down a slasher.

Literature

• Arabian Nights:
  • Scheherezade, the protagonist from the Framing Device, so much that she has a gambit named after her. She volunteers to marry King Shahryar (a madman who hates women and has ordered all his previous wives executed after the first one cheated on him) as part of a plan to cure his insanity - and she succeeds, becoming his Queen.
  • Some other characters in the individual stories qualify too, such as Morgiana, the Guile Hero of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. Morgiana being an Author Avatar for Scheherezade is lampshaded in at least one adaptation.
• Bazil Broketail: Lagdalen goes through lots of adventures and hardships in the series. She always remains optimistic and brave though, recovering from any setbacks.
• Illiana Henriksdotter in Betvingade has a tyrannical father and a cold-hearted mother, who never show her any love. But as soon as she gets married, she pretty much puts her abusive parents behind her.
• Caging Skies: Elsa Korr, which even Nazi Protagonist Johannes is frustrated at.
  I'm not a kept woman!' I saw the old fire light up in her eyes. 'If a boat were sinking and a man and woman were both on it, what good would it do for the man to bail the water out by himself? The boat sank, they both drowned — how many lives would he have saved? Zilch. If they bailed the water out together and the boat remained afloat, how many lives will each one have saved? Two.
  I shook my head at my old Elsa with her rhetorical arguments, which she pulled out of her hat at will. Sensing a breach in my defences she took her chance to change my mind. 'I have a talent, a craft, you know. You invested in it; you should get something out of it.' She waited for me to catch on but I didn't. 'My painting! If you let me, I can do one per day, at least, maybe even two. You just sell them at whatever price you choose, and use the money to keep the house going.
• The Chalet School is full of these, to the point where you wonder if it's a requirement to get into the school. Joey Bettany - who shares more than a few similarities with another Jo - is but one example. Childhood illness, running away from the Nazis, war, her husband Jack being temporarily MIA, the deaths of friends, a shedload of children...nothing will keep her down for long. And then there's Corney Flower, Biddy O'Ryan, Daisy Venables, Mary-Lou Trelawney, Carola Johnstone, Len Maynard...the list goes on.
• Circleverse: Sandry tends to come across as the sweet, optimistic one of the four, but she survived several days alone in a dark, concealed room, with only a basket of embroidery thread for company while half the city died of plague around her, and when once again trapped in the dark (by an earthquake, no less) she is the one who figures out how to get herself and her friends out (though they all participate).
• Conan the Barbarian has Zenobia from The Hour of the Dragon, a harem girl that has no martial training whatsoever, but is brave and resourceful enough to save Conan when he is thrown into prison by the conspirators, arranging for his escape and showing no fear whatsoever. Her courage ends up making him fall for her.
• Gemma from Dark Life. She's an orphan whose beloved older brother was sent to a reformatory, escaped from her cruel headmistress, went subsea on her own despite not knowing how to swim, and is constantly delighted by all the wonderful sea creatures she comes across.
• Enola Holmes is the definition of this, eventually. It does take her running away from home with her brother, Sherlock Holmes, hunting her to force her into finishing school, and finding that she's a great detective herself at the age of 14. At the end, Sherlock and Mycroft are agape at how capable she is for her age.
• Angel in Gene Stratton-Porter's Freckles. It seals Freckles' Love at First Sight.
  She did know. She was not in the least afraid. She was depending on a rattlesnake to live up to his share of the contract and rattle in time for her to move. The one characteristic an Irishman admires in a woman, above all others, is courage. Freckles worshiped anew.
• From Harry Potter: Lily Potter (standing between the Dark Lord and her baby without a second thought), Ginny Weasley (Cute Witch who does what she can to help Harry and Co.), Hermione Granger (member of the Golden Trio and Magical Girl Warrior extraordinaire), and Luna Lovegood - though it's hard to say with her what is indomitable pluck and what is sheer Cloud Cuckoo Land training.
• Journey to Chaos: Imagine being stuck in the lair of an Evil Sorcerer for months and then learning the Awful Truth that you are an Artificial Human with implanted memories; do you think would have both the courage to continuing trying to escape, and the presence of mind to act like a Proper Lady? Vaya Kloac can, and does; she even rescues a captured mercenary in the process.
• Maree Mallory of Deep Secret has "sheer if not-always-nice pluck" as one of her defining character traits. How much of a fighter is she? At one point, she permanently loses half her soul. Most people die within hours of this happening. Maree not only fights back, she walks miles to recover in Babylon. To put things in perspective, the only other person to survive this that we know of? A powerful and charismatic emperor who once conquered eleven different core universes and untold others.
• Roald Dahl's Matilda is ignored by her parents and terrorised by the awful Miss Trunchbull, and just 6-7 years old. So what's a little super-smart girl to do? Obviously, play some 'subduing' pranks on your boastful, corrupt father to take him down a peg, then develop your latent psychokinetic powers to help that nice teacher who recognised your genius.
• The titular character of Momo by Michael Ende. The bad guys actually take over the world (while she's asleep for A Year and a Day), but she never gives it up. She even dares giving one of the grey men a Care-Bear Stare while she's completely on her own.
• Nory Ryans Song: The titular character. Though Nory frequently struggles to hold on to hope, she never loses it and doesn't give up in trying to provide for her family.
• Beatrice Löwenström in Överenskommelser by Simona Ahrnstedt is a tough girl, but it seems like the Universe itself is out to break her down. But once the worst is over, she gets over it and moves on.
• Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera novel (which may be surprising to fans more familiar with the Broadway Musical) is an adventurous and vivacious heroine in Gaston Leroux’s novel, whose prim and proper lady-like behaviour is frequently offset by her wildness and boldness. Her love interest Raoul is left in awe and explicitly describes Christine as “plucky” upon learning how brave she has acted in spite of the looming threat of the phantom. Unfortunately the majority of adaptations have completely excised Christine’s plucky girl qualities and dialed up The Ingenue traits to the extreme.
• Ninevah "Nin" Redstone from Seven Sorcerers by Caro King. Her Motto is "Have Courage and never give up!" She confronts a Bogeyman while armed only with a toothbrush and goes to insane lengths to rescue her brother, along with everybody else needing help.
• Lia in Skinned by Robin Wasserman. Despite getting in a car accident, having her brain put in an android, her friends abandoning her, her sister sleeping with her boyfriend, and people believing she doesn't deserve to exist, she still keeps going.
• Sansa Stark from A Song of Ice and Fire, who manages to stay cool even when life seems more and more persistent to break her. Her sister Arya too, though this becomes less appealing and more creepy as the story goes on, though, as the goals Arya persists in achieving pretty much amount to mass murder.
• Stephanie Plum from the books by Janet Evanovich. Faces down homicidal rapists and madmen with pluck, snark, and heavy coats of mascara. Interestingly enough, she's not entirely plucky - pretty much every time she's in direct danger, she's a terrified, blubbering wreck. She deserves the moniker because, even when she's out of her depth, terrified, and facing fates too horrible to consider, she doesn't give up.
• The Stormlight Archive: Shallan Davar gives off this vibe, always ready with a smile and a quip, persevering through sheer pluckiness. It soon becomes clear that she's faking nearly all of this in order to keep herself functional. She goes as far as actively repressing memories, but when push comes to shove she turns into a stone cold pragmatist who is willing to do anything to survive. She killed her mother in self-defense when she was eleven, and later poisoned her father to stop him from killing her brother. When that failed to kill him, she calmly strangled him while her brothers watched in horror.
• In C. S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, Istra, aka Psyche, is this. To the extent that she angers her older sister, Orual, for not being worried about being offered to a local god as a "bride", saying the god might actually be nice. It turns out Istra is right, and everything works out in the end.
• In Toliver's Secret, Ellen considers giving up on her journey to deliver her grandfather's message to his friend for the Revolutionary War and going back home a few times, especially after a disastrous chase at the beginning with two boys who stole it from her. She pulls through out of sheer determination to complete her grandfather's mission.
• Tortall Universe: Daine is probably the most obvious example. Her house was burned by raiders, her family killed and she survived only by accident, she was almost raped/murdered by an ex-suitor of her mother's, and was Raised by Wolves — all before the book starts. She then proceeds to demonstrate a great deal of ass-kicking, particularly so in the later books; in the third one, after she is told that the Emperor killed Numair, she proceeds to wake up an army of fossilized dinosaurs and rip the everloving shit out of the palace. She's not done. In the fourth book, after even more tragedy occurs, she kills Ozorne with only a badger claw, naked, and entirely out of magic. Yeowch.
• Mavra Chang from Jack Chalker's Well World series absolutely refuses to give up despite all of the Body Horror inflicted on her — seemingly crippling mutations and body modifications only seem to make her even more determined. Hell, Mavra's probably at her most dangerous when she doesn't even have any hands.
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz features Dorothy, a resourceful, smart little girl who is willing to slap lions in the face and learns not to be afraid of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Live-Action TV

• Susan Grey from The Bletchley Circle is the driving force behind the investigation, the one who gets the band back together.
• Carmen Carrillo from Carrusel. She may not have the best family situation at first, but she always makes sure to study and do well in school, so that someday she can go to college and obtain a career. Plus she is always nice to everyone. She is very prim and proper- while always remaining determined, so her being ladylike and staying out of trouble may be a not so obvious way of remaining strong so that she can achieve her goals.
• Miki Momozono/Goggle Pink from Dai Sentai Goggle Five. She gets hit massively with a fatal bomb that nearly killed her, yet she still dragged her body to get up so her friends and Kid Sidekick won't worry about her. Then she gets trapped in a devil diary, is tied up and the diary gets burned from the outside (which would burn her eventually), and her friends can't get her out, only able to watch as she burns. Instead, she escapes from the book on her own using just her wits and brains, delivers a condemning speech to those who trapped her (and dozens of innocent kids), then proceeds to kick ass.
• Doctor Who:
  • Vicki, the First Doctor companion. She was orphaned by a space accident, and we meet her after she's been stranded on an isolated desert planet awaiting a rescue mission while being psychologically terrorised by a repugnant monster with unclear motivations who turns out to be a man she thought was her friend in disguise — she'd still been making the best of it, by befriending the local wildlife. After the Doctor takes her on she will have occasional scenes where she will remind the others of what she's lost and that the Doctor is now her only family, but is mostly resolute and cheerful, happy to take the lead in a crisis (like in "The Space Museum"), and with a big scoop of Nightmare Fetishist and Fluffy Tamer to boot.
  • Lampshaded in "The Unicorn and the Wasp" when the Doctor introduces himself to the guests at a 1926 dinner party as a Scotland Yard detective and Donna as "The plucky young girl who helps me out."
    Donna: "The plucky young girl who helps me out"?
    The Doctor: No policewomen in 1926.
    Donna: I'll pluck you in a minute!
  • Amy Pond and Clara Oswald generally fit this, though each in their own way: Amy's the more sanguine, cheeky go-getter, while Clara tends to be more introverted and shy whenever she's not wisecracking or fooling around.
• The titular character in Dong Yi never gives up on, or breakdown over whatever she is doing, even when the odds are completely against her.
• Friends: Rachel starts out as a Spoiled Brat Upper-Class Twit who when realizing she was about to enter a loveless marriage, runs away to find childhood friend Monica in hopes she could help. Rachel then through much determination goes from a menial job as a waitress to a successful career woman, along with also evolving into a more sensible and capable person.
• Game of Thrones:
  • Despite all the loss and suffering Arya Stark goes through, she just keeps on going.
  • When Stannis takes her along on his march to take Winterfell from the Boltons, Shireen declares she won't be afraid during the battle.
• Audrey Parker of Haven: A young FBI agent who is sent to the small town of Haven, Maine to capture a killer but stays to solve the terrifying "Troubles" that afflict the town and to find her long lost mother and learn to be a "small town cop." Being cocooned alive, almost driving off a cliff and dealing with super powered freaks of nature only makes her pissed and/or more determined. Also a very capable Action Girl but could be considered a Broken Bird at times because of the emotional distance she keeps from people.
• Monk has Natalie Teiger who brings bushels of optimism as a counterpoint to her employer's crabbiness.
• Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: Nico Saiba is determined enough to stick around the resident Token Evil Teammate and flip off Cthulhu if she thinks the situation calls for it. One example is when she hit Kamen Rider Genm with a mop.
• LazyTown:
  • Stephanie. The character is defined by her can-do attitude; she has a song called There Is Always a Way.
  • Sportacus is both a rare male example and a rare adult one. He's as cheerful and encouraging as Stephanie, despite the added pressure that come with being the town savior and dealing with the Big Bad.
• The Law According to Lidia Poët: Lidia is never more than briefly deterred from her goals in spite of the institutionalized sexism she faces as it's Italy during the 1880s, her strong determination always taking her on even if she has to lie or manipulate for what she wants.
• The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House: Kiyo, the teenage protagonist. In the second episode Sumire describes her as not particularly talented in school, but very determined to see things through. Indeed, in that same episode Kiyo spends the night hiking towards a shrine and back in order to solidify her position.
• ''New Girl"": The titular character relishes in her personality quirks and doesn't let the awkwardness of any situation hold her back.
• Never Have I Ever: Aneesa can be described as plucky in relation to Dev who tends to fret more.
• Once Upon a Time:
  • Princess Aurora, lampshaded when she is called this by her kidnapper, Cora, when Aurora flatly refuses to play along with her games.
  • Gretel/Ava is driven by her faith that she'll find her father again. In Storybrooke, she's managed to take care of herself and her younger twin brother while hiding the fact that their parents are missing, and in the Enchanted Forest, she even manages to stand up to Regina by telling her that family will always find each other. At the end of "True North," the two children are reunited with their father.
• Djaq from Robin Hood originates from the Holy Land which is being torn apart by war in which she lost her father, mother and twin brother. She was then enslaved and brought to England in chains, all the while hiding her gender from her jailers. When she's rescued by Robin Hood, her fellow prisoners abandon her while she's helping out the outlaws. Yet she joins the gang, contributing her skills as a scientist and a medic to the country that is at war with her own, overcoming race and gender prejudices, and proceeding to kick ass all over the place whilst keeping her rather wicked sense of humor, resulting in one of the few times in which a character with obvious OP qualities manages to be imminently likeable.
• Schitt's Creek has Alexis Rose, who is cheerful, brave and optimistic no matter what the circumstances despite her lack of book smarts and losing her family's fortune.
• In Smallville, as much as we love to see one of Chloe Sullivan's many Break the Cutie moments, she always pulls herself together to help Clark at the end of the day. Season eight, "Abyss", "Bride" and "Legion", for instance. She has her memory slowly destroyed, making her gradually forgetting everything and everyone, attacked at her wedding, Jimmy almost dies, she is kidnapped by Doomsday to be possessed by Brainiac, and the Legion is about to kill her before Clark rushes in. She is up and about almost unnaturally quickly after the ordeal. And that isn't even half of it.
• Allison Young in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, a resistance fighter captured by Skynet in the future who absolutely refuses to give in, even when pushed to the point of total emotional collapse. She tries to escape twice, refuses to eat when the machines try to interrogate her, and spins a story designed to trick the Terminator that tries to mimic her into walking into a trap. It doesn't work, and Cameron kills her for her troubles, but she gave it her best shot. And even when dying, she stares her killer defiantly in the eye and refuses to yield an inch.
• Caroline Forbes from The Vampire Diaries, no matter how many times she's abused, tortured, neglected or loses someone she loves, she always holds her head high, smiles and is there for her friends.
• Veronica Mars of Veronica Mars, the unflappable young PI who is roofied and date-raped, best friend is killed, family splits up, ostracized by her old friends, yet somehow trudges through and comes out mostly on top. And her relationships? Suspected murderer of best friend, and also a man who could possibly be her biological brother (he's not). Well, let's just say she's incredibly determined.
• Cheryl in Welcome to Flatch isn't having a great time with the move but tries to put on as brave of a face as she can for the documentary crew. She also takes a lot of pride in her budding newspaper.
• Subverted by Gabrielle in Xena: Warrior Princess. She starts off plucky, but in season 4, she joins the church of the One True God, throws in the towel, her staff and her joy. she becomes a determinator and never comes back. Lampshaded in an episode set in modern time. Mad Scientist raids Xena and Gabrielle's tomb and clones them. Gabrielle is plucky, Mad Scientist turns her into a determinator. Fan complains, Mad Scientist says you will only ever see plucky Gabrielle in the repeats of Seasons 1-3 - "Only in the re-runs."

Myths & Religion

• Antigone from Greek Mythology, who refuses to abandon her father Oedipus even after learning the truth of her birth. She also defies her uncle Creon when he orders to not give burial to her brother's corpse, and prefers execution rather than renouncing to her beliefs.
• Many Christian martyrologies have tales about young and not-so-young girls who choose torture and death rather than renouncing to their beliefs and worshipping non-Christian Gods, and many of them are described as plucky to the extreme. For that matter, the Blessed Virgin Mary is this to Catholics, oh so very much.

Podcasts

• Mystery Show has Determinator Amateur Sleuth Starlee Kine.

Roleplay

• Dawn of a New Age: Oldport Blues:
  • Zia has gone through a higher quota of trauma than most, and is still fighting against a deep depression that she hides beneath her cheerful snark, but she's determined not to let it overtake her, and has a flirty, friendly personality.
  • Destiny has had to put with a lot, being one of the few poor kids living in a rich town, but she hasn't let it get her down and maintains a positive attitude and a level head.

Tabletop Games

• In Blood Bowl, the former pig farmer turned Star Blitzer Karla von Kill has had to deal with low level sexism from Cablevision reporters, as well as major injuries caused by Minotaur that apothecaries said should have ended her career but has been determined to push onwards regardless. Karla’s attitude is was ably demonstrated during the 2492 Blood Bowl final where she attempted to stop the Mighty Zug only to be knocked out for her trouble. Karla didn’t let this stop her however and, once she regained consciousness, immediately singled out Zug again and actually managed to knock down the famously solid Blocker, something that gained her a nod of respect from Zug himself.
• In Heroine, one of the players plays the eponymous Heroine, who is defined by her pluckiness. Sure, she also has flaws she has to overcome in the course of the story, but as a rule of thumb, optimism and resourcefulness are a requirement in this role.

Theatre

• Swanhilde from Coppélia. She's unwilling to just take her boyfriend Franz's sudden abandonment to favor the titular Coppelia and later desert him when it turns out that he's in danger of losing his own soul. So she will go into Dr. Coppelius's home to see what's going on with her "love rival" with her own eyes and later protect Franz as much as she can once Coppelia's Robot Girl nature is revealed.
• Deconstructed in Bertolt Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children. The main female's pluckiness, perseverance and resourcefulness were supposed to show how dehumanized Mother Courage had become thanks to her sucky life (the deaths of her children included), as a detestable personification of the evils of capitalism. The audience embraced her instead.
• Romeo and Juliet: Juliet Capulet, believe it or not, and especially considering the time period it's set in. She disobeys her parents, follows her heart, takes the initiative even more than Romeo (to the point of them qualifying as Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy in the era's standards), braves disownment and being trapped in a tomb to stay true to the man she loves (or at least believes she loves - give her a break, she is a teenager after all) and chooses to die with him rather than just bow to her elders.
• Molly Brown in The Unsinkable Molly Brown. "I ain't down yet" is her catchphrase.

Video Games

• In Bear & Breakfast, Anni is described as "brave, but clumsy" as she and her friends set off for adventure. She keeps her head up high and hopes to sniff out goodies along the way.
• BlazBlue:
  • While a number of girls qualify for this in some shape or form, Makoto Nanaya clearly stands head and shoulders above the rest. If she can stand to rebuild a positive outlook on life in the wake of a lifetime of wall-to-wall Fantastic Racism, you're going to need some heavy ordinance to break her down - physical injury, financial woes, mind games, a trip through the Boundary, and Yuuki Terumi's mental penis don't work.
  • To a much lesser but constantly increasing extent, Noel Vermillion. She began as a Shrinking Violet with huge issues, but after the events of Continuum Shift and leading up to Chrono Phantasma, she seems to have taken a few levels in badass and developed a more assertive but still kind personality. And as her best friend, Makoto helped her quite a bit. So yeah, try stopping her from saving her other best friend Tsubaki . Try it.
• Maria Renard from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, doubled as a Badass in Distress. Right after being freed, you can control her all the way from where she's held captive to beat up Dracula all by herself and her pets (which is a case for most people anyway, since she's stronger and faster than Ricther.)
• Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening:
  • Sigrun is unusually cheerful for being a member of a group of Death Seekers with the goal of achieving a Heroic Sacrifice, joking that she'll try harder next time whenever she gets through a battle. During party banter with Nathaniel, she states that being Wangsty about it doesn't really help her much, and demonstrates that it would just get annoying really fast.
  • Leliana in Origins lives through a tremendous amount of nasty stuff, yet comes out of it stubborn, courageous, and possibly the sweetest girl you will ever meet.
• Dragon Quest:
  • Dragon Quest IV: Princess Alena never lets anything get her down or stop her. Even though her kingdom has been destroyed and her father is missing, she is completely confident that she can find the culprit and punch it to death.
  • Dragon Quest V: It does not matter what happens to Bianca Whitaker (which includes being kidnapped and turned to stone right after giving birth to her children, and spending eight years as a statue before being rescued), she never loses hope that the Hero can defeat Nimzo, and she does not hesitate in rejoining her husband to fight the very monsters who tried to destroy her life.
• Fatal Fury, aside of all the girls who double as The King of Fighters Action Girls, adds ladies like Tsugumi Sendou and Hotaru Futaba. In The Movie, Kim's wife Myeungsuk also qualifies as such.
• Final Fantasy:
  • Krile from Final Fantasy V. She's already an orphan when you meet her. Then watches her grandfather die right in front of her. Then his spirit tells her she needs to take his place in defeating the warlock that just killed him. And she does, while still being cheerful enough to poke fun at the hero and pioneer the role that would appear in every numbered Final Fantasy after her.
  • Relm in Final Fantasy VI is a ten year old girl who talks smack to everyone and constantly gives her grandfather, Strago, grief. She's also a powerful magic user and she can sketch monsters in battle to use their abilities against them. Even after Kefka wrecks the world, Relm is still the same smart mouth optimist she always was and isn't totally fussed by the world being destroyed when you see her again.
  • Aerith from Final Fantasy VII. She had a pretty terrible upbringing as a flower girl in the slums, but she still maintains a feisty and flirtatious personality (but also a kind heart too), and she never backs down from anyone. Pretty hands on for the White Magician Girl too. Unfortunately this independent streak of hers ends in disaster when she takes the responsibility of bringing down Sephiroth on herself, leaves the party and is murdered by the man she was trying to stop. Given the final shot of the game before the credits roll though, that may have been her plan all along.
  • Tifa from the same game is strong case of this too. Her mother died when she was little and she fell off a rickety bridge at MT Nible convinced her mom was at the summit. Cloud, her crush left Niblehiem promising to become a legendary SOLDIER and come dashing to her rescue whenever she needed him, but she never saw him in the papers and he (seemingly) never returned. Then Sephiroth came to to inspect the town’s reactor, went nuts and burned everything down, killed her father and cut her down as well. Despite all this and losing her second home in Midgar a few years later, Tifa has remained strong as ever. She even provides moral support to Cloud and Barret without letting her own sadness show.
  • Selphie Tilmitt from Final Fantasy VIII. Her original home was destroyed, many of her friends were killed, the world was about to end, and she still maintained her plucky attitude and sense of humor. Worryingly, she's also always the first one to propose an excessively violent solution to a problem, such as skinning a Moomba to use as a disguise for escaping captivity.
    "Blow it to smithereens with a rocket launcher! BOOOOOM!"
• Fire Emblem gives us both female and male examples:
  • Linde from Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light and Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem. Alongside Maria, post-Heel–Face Turn!Minerva, Yumina, Lena, Elice, Tiki, Feena, etc. Gaiden adds Celica, Sonya, etc. Merric and Rickard are rare male examples.
  • From Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, we have several either in the White Mage or the Action Girl fields.
    • The first generation: Adean, Briggid, Tailto until she's horribly broken, Ferry, Mahnya, Raquesis, Sylvia and Ayra. Dew is The One Guy, sorta.
    • The second generation: Lana (and Mana), Patty (and Daisy), Fee (and Femina), Nanna (and Janne), Altena, Larcei (and Radney), Leen (and Laylea). On the enemy side, we have the Anti-Villain Ishtar. On the rare male example side, there's Corple (and Sharlow) and specially Seliph.
  • Fire Emblem: Thracia 776: The aforementioned Nanna alongside Mareeta, Tanya, Karin, post-Heel–Face Turn!Olwen, Sara, Safy, Lara, Tina, Eda, Linoan, Misha and Princess Miranda, with Evayle or better said, an amnesiac Briggid, Machyua, Selphina and post-Heel–Face Turn!Amalda as older versions. The Hero Leif and Asvel are rare male examples.
  • Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade:
    • Nino the Mage/Sage. Oh poor little innocent, sweet, freaking determined Nino.
    • Lyndis/Lyn, Louise, Priscilla, Serra, Farina, Fiora and Rebecca, too. A good part of Florina's Character Development comes from her doing what she can to become one. If you want rare male examples, look no further than Sain, Guy and Wil.
  • In Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (set 20 years after The Blazing Blade) Princess Lilina is this and some more. Makes sense since her dad is Lord Hector and her mom can either be Lyn, Farina or Florina. Other than her, we have: Clarine, Ellen, Princess Guinevere, Thany, Thite, Lalum, Sue, Milady and Fir. Adult versions include: Echidna, Igrene, Cecilia and Niime. "Mayfly" versions include the dragon Fa rare male examples include Lugh, one of Nino's sons and The Hero Roy whose mom can be either Fiora or Lyn.
  • Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones:
    • Princess Tana. So plucky that she refuses to stay on the sidelines even when her brother Innes demands her to do so, helps both Eirika and Ephraim as much as she can despite her limited battle experience, can convince the very distraught Cormag to defect with words alone and hook up with him if they have an A support, and pulls Ephraim out of his Heroic BSoD after he sees that he can't bring Lyon back and loses one of the stones to him.
    • Eirika, too. Despite her naivete and seeing her kingdom and others go down, she keeps going on.
    • And L'Arachel, too. So plucky that she can bring Eirika out of an Heroic BSoD when she has to assume that Lyon's too far gone to be truly saved, after his Superpowered Evil Side uses him to steal the MacGuffin from her.
    • Also Natasha and Amelia. Both young ladies come from Grado, an Empire that is starting to invade and threaten other countries, but they decide to fight back and join Eirika and/or Ephraim's groups so they can save the world and Grado itself.
    • The rare male examples? Ewan and Ross; both begin as quite weak fighters but evolve into much stronger ones without losing their cheerful dispositions.
  • Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn: Mist, most prominently. Also to some extent Mia, Jill, Lucia, Elincia after her Character Development, Sanaki, Laura, Micaiah, Heather, Eda and others. The rare male examples are Rhys, Oscar, Rolf, Boyd, Geoffrey and specially Kieran.
  • Fire Emblem: Awakening:
    • A female Avatar (default name: Robin), Sully, Lissa, Maribelle, Nowi, Tharja (in a... strange way, that is), Cordelia, Sumia (who's normally more of a submissive badass), Emmeryn (specially when she fearlessly goes through an Heroic Suicide to stop an upcoming war, Say'ri and the grown-up Tiki. And maybe Ke'ri, if Lon'qu's testimony is to be believed.) Also the male Avatar, Prince Chrom, Stahl, Vaike, Henry, Donnel and Ricken as rare male examples.
    • From the second generation there's Sully's daughter Kjelle, Sumia's daughter Cynthia, Cordelia's daughter Severa, Nowi's daughter Nah, Tharja's daughter Noire (in her own way) and Chrom's daughter Lucina. And there are some rare male examples like Olivia's son Inigo and Lissa's son Owain. Oh, and Morgan counts in here whether as a boy or a girl unless they get corrupted by Grima after the death of his Avatar mom/dad.
  • Fire Emblem Fates continues the tradition with the Female Avatar (default name: Kamui or Corrin), Azura, Hinoka, Elise, Camilla, Mozu, Oboro, Selena aka an Older and Wiser version of the aforementioned Severa, Felicia, Peri (in a rather terrifying way), Effie, Hana, Reina, Kagero, Anna, Sophie, Ophelia and Soleil. The rare male examples include the Male Avatar, Silas, Leo, Arthur, Odin aka an Older and Wiser Owain, Laslow aka an Older and Wiser Inigo, Azama, Hinata, Siegbert, Asugi, Percy, Kiragi, Shiro and Forrest. And Kana counts whether as a boy or a girl too.
  • Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia fleshes out its once rather flat cast, and as a result many of the girls become this. The biggest examples are the female lead Celica and the cleric Silque, and they're joined soon by Faye, Clair, Mathilda, the Whitewing Sisters (Palla, Catria and Est), Mae, Tatiana, Sonya, Emma, Shade and Yuzu. There are also male examples: the male lead Alm, Gray, Tobin, Lukas, Clive, Forsyth, Atlas, Celica's half-brother Conrad, Jesse, Valbar and especially Leon.
• Ghost Trick: Lynne gets killed no less than five times in one night, but she'll be damned before that will keep her from laughing it all off with her cheerful theme tune every time Sissel has to go back in time to undo her deaths. And then there is the bravery she displays when she gets trapped in a sinking submarine with Kamila. Kamila couldn't wish for a finer protective older sister surrogate even if she wanted to try.
• The main trait of Kat the heroine of Gravity Rush, constantly upbeat and cheerful and actively enjoys being a hero. It’s revealed Kat’s former self was once weak and vulnerable but after falling to Hekseville and becoming a hero she is anything but weak.
• The title character of the freeware action/adventure Iji is a teenage girl who wakes up six months after an alien attack kills her family to discover that scientists have implanted nanotech in her to combat the invaders, but her only support is her little brother Dan, who has grown bloodthirsty, cynical and emotionally distant. Even after she discovers that humanity is on the brink of extinction and the earth is a charred husk, she presses on with the mission Dan gives her. This first quest fails miserably, the second makes the situation even worse, and, depending on the player's actions, Iji fails to save her brother from an assassin, which traumatizes her horribly. And yet she still carries on. The player can choose to play her as an Action Girl or pacifist; regardless, the final boss is awed by her determination.
• Kairi from Kingdom Hearts. She was prepared to take on Saix unarmed at one point, and Axel commented on her guts.
• The King of Fighters: The KOF: KYO manga/game has Kyo's girlfriend Yuki, specially when she stands up to Iori in the middle of a Go Through Me. Not halfway bad for a Barrier Maiden Girl Next Door.
• The Legend of Zelda:
  • Zelda in many of her incarnations is a courageous Plucky Girl, particularly her Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker versions. Even the extremely insecure Breath of the Wild Zelda shows a playful side and by the ending Took a Level in Badass by holding back Calamity Ganon.
  • Malon/Marin in both Link’s Awakening and Ocarina of Time displays these qualities. The OOT version in particular remains strong despite her ranch getting taken over by Ingo and her father Talon ousted out, only fearing over Ingo hurting the horses not her own safety. Malon’s Alternate Universe counterparts Cremia and Romani from Majora’s Mask are of the same mold, with Cremia putting up a brave face despite knowing the moon is gonna crash into Termia and kill everyone.
• From No One Lives Forever we get Cate Archer, superspy extraordinaire. Almost the entirety of UNITY believes a woman can't be a proper spy, her mentor is killed, every single agent has died before her, she's continually put on missions often promised to be simple but always end up extremely dangerous, and she's being sabotaged. Of course this doesn't stop her. She gets bonus points for having been a very successful cat burglar, starting out when she was just a teenager.
• Persona:
  • The female protagonist route added to Persona 3 in the PSP version turns the player character into one. The darker the game's plot gets, the more determinedly upbeat her dialogue options become.
  • All of the Persona 4 girls show different shades of this after their Shadows are dealt with. Special mention goes to Rise Kujikawa, who took control of her Persona, Himiko, right after the Shadow Rise fight.
  • And beating them all out is Maya Amano from Persona 2, whose catchphrase is "Let's think positive!" She remains upbeat throughout Innocent Sin, serving as a Team Mom for the group. Her pluckiness remains palpable even after she becomes a Heroic Mime when promoted to Protagonist in Eternal Punishment.
• Atari from Puyo Puyo!! Quest; no matter how many lemons are thrown at her, be it in the form of her boss' rather unreasonable expectations, her "clients'" odd requests or even just her own incompetence, she always keeps a smile on her face, remaining enthusiastic and ready for action.
• Recette from the game Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale fits this trope to a T. She's a young, naive, and overwhelmingly optimistic girl who, despite her desperate circumstances, is determined to make the best of them and is nice to most everyone (even people who previously tried to kill her!) She starts off the game in danger of being evicted from the only home she's ever known because her father irresponsibly ran off on an adventure and left behind a huge debt that she must now repay. In spite of this, Recette manages to keep a smile on her face and pay back her father's debts. She may act rather dumb at times and obsess over sweets, but ultimately Recette's infectious optimism and kindness is what wins her both customers and friends. Even the player cannot help but be endeared to her!
• Resident Evil:
  • Jill Valentine has shades of this. She’s lost most of her colleagues to a Mad Scientist’s deathtrap mansion, had her the city she swore to protect get infested with zombies and then nuked and then was captured, shoved in a tube and turned into a Brainwashed and Crazy Super-Soldier. Yet even after all that Jill is still willful as ever and just tells Chris to hurry up and save the world immediately after he brings her back to normal. Oh and last we hear from her? She’s stuck in hospital naturally recovering but still wants to get back in the field as soon as possible.
  • This is a central trait of Claire Redfield as well. A upbeat biking tomboy turned activist and welfare worker, Claire has gone through the Zombie Apocalypse, lost both her dearest allies Sherry and Leon to The Government, had her love interest Steve die in her arms and then the human-rights agency she works for turned out to be evil. But Claire like her older brother Chris hasn’t lost any of her righteousness and is the optimistic one of the Redfield siblings.
  • Sherry displays such qualities throughout RE6 despite being an orphan confronted with near literal hell on earth. Her legal guardian Derek Simmons even comments on Sherry’s constant compassion and optimism in a file... personally finding it absolutely intolerable and disgusting.
• Quite a lot of the female characters from the Soul Series. Nearly every female character who has ever appeared in a Soul game is either this trope, or an Ice Queen. Cassandra, Xianghua and Talim are this big time, Sophitia and Seung Mina were this in their earliest incarnations but grew out of it to eventually become other tropes, and in the most recent game Soul Calibur V, Pyrrha (specially when she manages to pull herself together after years of Break the Cutie), Yan Leixia (who runs away to both refuse an Arranged Marriage and to seek for adventure) and Natsu (Taki's pupil and one of Leixia's travel partners).
• Street Fighter:
  • Chun-Li. Oh my, Chun-Li. The first Action Girl in fighting game history simply can't be less. Followed by Cammy White, "Rainbow" Mika Nanakawa, Sakura Kasugano, Karin Kanzuki, Elena, Ibuki, Maki Genryusai, Makoto, Rose, Ingrid...
  • In regards to non-fighting female charas, Yun's Hot-Blooded "non-girlfriend" Hoimei is this; considering how calm she is when around her, her little sister Shaomei might count too. Eliza Masters can be considered to be an Older and Wiser version: she's not seen a lot but when she does appear she's almost always smiling and patient, and the mere fact that she's Happily Married to a dude who's very often fighting out there implies that she's got quite the patience.
• While most Toads from Super Mario Bros. are portrayed as Lovable Cowards, Toadette is portrayed as, well, brave and optimistic. Even in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, the initial reason why she was captured by Wingo was that she wouldn't let go of the power star she and the Captain found. Even then, this is only temporary.
• In Tears to Tiara 2 we have Charis. The little girl around seven or eight years of age right smack in the middle of a war, has to abandon her home, and witness destruction, atrocities, and quite a number of monsters. And she never gives up and never stops being cheerful. At Eburon Hamil is about to charge suicidally into the Imperial ranks for a chance to take Izebel with him, before Tart points out to him Charis is going to follow him on his suicide charge, all cheerful and smiles. He stops himself to not get her killed.
• Clementine from The Walking Dead (Telltale) starts off as one, as scared of her situation as a child would be but maintaining a mostly optimistic attitude. On top of just coloring pictures, she contributes to the group every now and then, finding the boat in the shed and possibly putting in her two cents on whether they should let Ben stay or not. Overall, she does fairly well for a child in the apocalypse. As things become more and more dire, however, her optimism runs out to the point until she's effectively jaded.

Visual Novels

• Ace Attorney's strongest example of this is Maya Fey — not only is she framed for murder multiple times, but she often watches her family members be murdered (notably her mother and sister) and frame each other for murder (and two of the times she's framed, it's by her own family.) Despite everything, she does her damnedest to keep a smile on her face and crack a joke when she can. After all's said and done in the final case of the third game, after Maya has been through absolute physical and emotional hell, Franziska just marvels at Maya's optimism and wonders aloud how she manages to stay so strong. She's followed by Trucy Wright in Apollo Justice and Athena Cykes in Dual Destinies.
• Danganronpa has several examples:
  • The first game has Aoi Asahina, a sweethearted fitness nut who does her damnedest to keep everyone's chins up during the killing game. She breaks twice- first when she thinks Sakura killed herself because of the others, and second when Junko reveals the outside world is post-apocalyptic, but manages to bounce back with some help.
  • The second game has several: Akane Owari (the upbeat and competitive Ultimate Gymnast), Sonia Nevermind (Princess Classic and the group's Supporting Leader), and Ibuki Mioda (a cheerful Cloud Cuckoolander rock musician).
• In Daughter for Dessert, Lily never abandons her positive attitude, and she’s braver than some others give her credit for.
• Yui, the heroine of Diabolik Lovers, has a reputation for being an Extreme Doormat. In the visual novels she is more precisely an extreme Love Martyr, because when it comes to her love interest she is incredibly persistent. No matter how cruel he is or how much he tries to scare her off, Yui will discover his emotional weak points or find him in a distressing situation and do everything she can to help him. Each and every one of them is eventually cowed by her willingness to Turn the Other Cheek.
• Sakura from Fate/stay night, who lives with an abusive family but still manages to by sweet and cheerful. Until she snaps in the third route.
• Hatoful Boyfriend:
  • Nothing gets Hiyoko Tousaka down for long. Not even being unintentionally killed by her best friend/love interest and then cut up into pieces by a mad doctor keeps her from taking an active role in the plot and helping Ryouta when he needs it the most.
  • Rare male example in Sakazaki Yuuya, who accepted his guilt in Killing his half-brother to let his full brother Sakuya live and refuses to let himself be get down by anything from Sakuya hating him to being stabbed by a poisoned cleaver to being guilt-tripped by The King using the sound of breaking eggs.
• The main character of Ikemen Sengoku has her entire life upended when she abruptly gets sent back in time to Japan's Sengoku period and has to survive in a time where wars and deaths are commonplace for at least three months before she can return home. Despite getting frightened or horrified at various points by how much more dangerous the Sengoku period is compared to her more peaceful modern day time, her resolve to survive it and be productive in her new job as chatelaine of Azuchi Castle instead of just sitting around and waiting never falters and she can even snark about the more absurd aspects of her new life.
• Emi Ibarazaki from Katawa Shoujo, a young woman who lost her legs and her father in an horrifying accident, but around a year later she had already relearned to walk, and is the star of Yamaku High's track team. Once the player pursues her route, though, it's a Deconstructed Trope. Emi knows that loss of a relationship is normal, and it is best to be strong and move on. However, at the same time, the same stubbornness that enables her to deal with her issues prevents Emi from growing close to anyone because she is afraid that the pain of loss will prevent her from moving onto the future. This prevents anyone from helping her when she does need it, so Hisao must be VERY patient and persistent with her.
• Mary Clarissa Christie, the main character from Shikkoku no Sharnoth. The minigame is even based off of it: If her mental state falls too far, you lose.
• Spirit Hunter: NG:
  • Kaoru shows little fear in the presence of spirits, and is determined to do anything to hunt down and save Ami from Kakuya. Even if the scare is put in her, she'll eventually bounce back and keep on moving.
  • Ami's kindness and optimism allow her to get along with pretty much everyone she meets, and she has a noted stubborn streak that's enough to get Akira, who otherwise doesn't like bothersome things, to play along with her.

Webcomics

• Credenza, The Protagonist of Archipelago. While years as a slave on a pirate ship have left their mark, she's relentlessly helpful to everyone, the stubborn optimist between her Sour Supporter Raven's whining and team worrier Tuff's fretting, and saving the world despite all odds, because it's the right thing to do. As her friend Blitz says (regarding the Big Bad):
  Blitz: You're gonna faith him to death!
• Grace from El Goonish Shive has strong shades of this, being willing to talk her half-immortal teacher into hunting a magically-enlarged giant boar... because she wants to save the boar.
• Feferi Peixes, of Homestuck, is one. She'd almost be a Princess Classic, if not for her easily riled temper and lack of subtlety.
• The main character of Invincea and the Warriors from Hell keeps a chipper attitude in spite of all her suffering. She has a very optimistic view of the world, and pursues every adventure like it’s her first.
• Milny from Planescape Survival Guide. Even being briefly dead cannot undo her optimism.
• The blind Idony and the carefree Chara from The Silver Eye.
• Xenospora gives us an alien woman named Strike, who endures a whipping for her beliefs.

Web Original

• Rebecca Stone from Demo Reel. She's had a difficult life, with misogyny in the industry, Abusive Parents and a sexually abusive uncle, but she's an optimistic Nice Girl all the same. Plus can beat the crap out of anything that hurts Tacoma or Donnie.
• From New Vindicators, there's Kirstie Arnett, also known as Parabola. While her Neo-Sapien powers can be useful, and she's not entirely helpless in a hand to hand fight, she's not quite an Action Girl and relies more on strength of character.
• RWBY: Ruby has an enduring optimism that she can make the world a better place for everyone. She was raised on children stories about great heroes protecting and inspiring people and is determined to become a Huntress to help people survive the world of monsters in which they live. When Blake tries to tell her she's fantasising like a child and the real world isn't so kind, Ruby simply tells her that the reason people like them exist is to make the real world a nicer place. When she regrets dragging her friends on a dangerous quest across the continent of Anima, Jaune tells her that she didn't drag anyone — her optimism and determination gave them the courage to follow her. When Ruby cheers up the terrified Oscar with advice on how she copes with the terrible things the world has been throwing at her, Oscar and Professor Ozpin discuss her unique ability to lift and inspire others with her constant optimism and determination. Her optimism drives a bitter Roman to rage about her detachment from a world in which the realists only concentrate on survival. There are strong hints that Salem sees Ruby as the key to winning her ancient war with the equally optimistic Ozpin: by breaking Ruby's optimism, she can break Ozpin and defeat him by destroying the world he protects right in front of his eyes.

Western Animation

• Tinker Bell is portrayed as this in the Disney Fairies franchise. In her original film she was more of a Yandere, though she still showed traces of this when she fearlessly took a bomb away from Peter and almost sacrificed herself to help him.
• Toot from Drawn Together became a mix of this and Jerkass Woobie after going through Character Development.
• Asami Sato from ATLA sequel The Legend of Korra, who has remained strong, kind, and supportive despite multiple betrayals and disappointments and a lot of loss.
• Lilo Pelekai in Lilo & Stitch: The Series. This little Hawaiian girl is not afraid of dealing with destructive, mischievous aliens on a regular basis as she helps them use their abilities for constructive purposes.
• Julie Kane in Motorcity. The token female Action Girl of the Burners, who actually believes there might be still some good in her father.
• The Owl House: Luz Noceda is a feisty girl who is confident in herself and refuses to give up, in particular undertaking the challenge of learning magic despite Humans having no natural ability to use magic. Her drive, passion and determination ultimately result in Luz discovering an entire branch of lost Wild Magic that is nearly exclusive to her and allows her to cast spells like Witches and Demons without the need for a Bile Sac.
• In Princess Sissi, the plucky farm girl who deals with danger and tribulation after tribulation to get married to her sweetheart, Prince Franz, all the while believing that she can bring peace to Austria and Hungary and helping who she can on the way.
• Ensign D'Vana Tendi of Star Trek: Lower Decks. From the first episode, she's very enthusiastic about her posting, and deterred by very little, even when others might find her enthusiasm a bit grating at times. Despite primarily being in the medical division, she's shown to be more than capable of handling herself in a fight, as she was able to take out numerous armed Romulan guards single-handedly by herself, and could be uncomfortably dominant with males of her own race.
• Ahsoka Tano from Star Wars: The Clone Wars begins as a headstrong, impulsive Padawan learner, and while the realities of the war and being betrayed by the Jedi council temper her somewhat, she never loses her fundamental bravery and optimism.
• Steven Universe:
  • Gender Inverted with the eponymous Steven Quartz Universe. Both a young warrior and the only human/gem hybrid, he manages to be a sweet and cheerful boy regardless.
  • While Connie Maheswaran starts out as shy and friendless, things gradually change when she meets Steven, and she still manages to become bold and a bit more cunning while still trying to be a Nice Girl. By the second season, she learns how to handle a sword, go on adventures with the Gems, and stand up for Steven because he helps her to make friends, and she cares so much for him and their inseparable bond of friendship that she wants to be a part of his universe.
• Princess Ilana in Sym-Bionic Titan. She's fairly cheerful, something of a Granola Girl, and passionate about school-related activities. Although she is shown to worry about the state of the people on her planet.
• Miko from Transformers: Prime, who is ever eager to get herself into the action.

---