Cute Bruiser: Difference between revisions

|'''Molly Hayes''', ''[[Runaways]]''}}

 

 

The Cute Bruiser's [[Weapon of Choice]] will probably be [[Good Old Fisticuffs]], a [[Carry a Big Stick|club]], or [[I Know Karate|martial arts]] that focus on direct blows to your opponent instead of [[Waif Fu|pressure points or judo throws]]. They'll only rarely be using a bladed weapon or depending on projectile weapons, with the exception of [[Improvised Weapon|throwing]] [[Rock Beats Laser|heavy]] [[Car Fu|objects]]. When confronted with an obstacle, the obstacle gets smashed.

This is usually [[The Big Guy]] in a [[Five-Man Band]], a common subversion of the usual traits associated with that character type. Almost always a [[Pint-Sized Powerhouse]]. Often a [[Badass Adorable]] or [[Little Miss Badass]]. Possibly a [[Super Strong Child]], in which case she may be a [[Glacier Waif]]. Tends to overlap with [[Small Girl, Big Gun]] when firearms are present.

 

 

{{examples}}

* Chouhi (Zhang Fei), Ukitsu (Yu Ji), and Kyocho Chuukou (Xu Chu, who mixes this with [[Huge Schoolgirl]]) in ''[[Ikki Tousen]]''. Though, this being a voluptuous schoolgirl version of ''[[Romance of the Three Kingdoms]]'', they're more like ''Hot'' Bruisers.

** Then again the closest things to a "cute" bruiser in ''[[Ikki Tousen]]'' is Hakufu, but even she's hot.

** There's another non-female example in ''[[One Piece]]'' that nonetheless fits this trope pretty well: Zoro as a 11-12 year old. He was beating up adults before he was old enough to shave, but in the anime version of the story, he was also arguably insanely cute. (Admit it. If you're female of childbearing age, you probably [[Squee|squealed like mad]] whenever Tiny!Zoro came on-screen.)

** And Kuina, the straightforward female example of this trope.

* In [[Infinite Stratos]], both Houki and Rin have melee-oriented [[Powered Armor|IS suits]]. Additionally, Houki trained in kendo.

* Hinako from ''[[Ultimate Teacher]]'' has had the strength and skills to kick anyone's ass since she was a kid and is also the boss of the high school.

 

== [[Comic Books]] ==

** In Jeff Smith's "Monster Society of Evil" mini-series, Mary Marvel's physical body remains the same age when she transforms, and definitely qualifies as a Cute Bruiser.

*** Mary has almost always looked pretty much the same when transformed, right back to the 40s. It's a wonder that she has ever been able to maintain a [[Secret Identity]] at all.

* In the later chapters of ''[[Bone]]'', Thorn gains super strength among her powers as the Awakened One. She demonstrates this by picking up and throwing a large warrior—easily twice her weight—and by pulling the iron bars of her dungeon cell out of the wall.

* Considering that, at least in [[Pre Crisis]] continuity, [[Superman|Superboy]] first donned his costume at the age of eight, he could count as a male version. And he had his powers ''before'' that. One "superbaby" story did involve l'il toddler Clark accidentally almost [[Earthshattering Kaboom|destroying the world.]]

* Cassandra Cain ([[Batgirl]]) is a 5'5", 115 pound, pretty, rather quiet Asian girl. And she could (and often does) take out ''anyone'' without breaking a sweat, due to her ability to read body language.

* Hisako Ichiki ('''Armor''') from ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'' is a 5'4", 112 pound, cute and quippy Japanese girl. Her power is Psionic Exo-Armor that can take a hit from anything short of Wolverine's claws, and can lift (with a little assistance) a Skrull Tank.

* Max from ''[[Sam and Max]]'' is an adorable rabbity [[Cartoon Creature]] whose role in the Freelance Police is the [[Good Cop, Bad Cop|Bad Cop]]/thug. He's shown to not be physically as strong as Sam, but who needs strength when you have a huge gun and [[Heroic Comedic Sociopath|no morals or conscience]]?

 

== Fan Works ==

* The development of [[Terry Pratchett]]'s female Assassins, who in the canon are at the moment nothing more than names, descriptions and cameo appearances. In [http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5318396/1/Nature_Studies Nature Studies], regard the slight, freckled and girlish Johanna Smith-Rhodes, who has a winning way with animals. To wit, the sort of venomous and generally dangerous fauna that would get her fan-mail from Steve Irwin. She also has a direct way of dealing with obstructive Palace Guards blocking her way to Vetinari. She teaches Natural Sciences, Zoology aand Animal Management to student Assassins and has the capacity to organise some ''really'' interesting nature trails for her pupils, in which they learn that Nature is a thing to have wonder and respect for.

* Elsewhere, the characters of assassins Miss Alice Band, Jocasta Wiggs, and Madame Deux-Epées are similarly expanded upon in the works of A.A. Pessimal.

 

== Film ==

* Gogo from ''[[Kill Bill]] Vol. I''...

* Maruti in ''[[The Return of Hanuman]]'' is a little boy who is very strong and able to lift a house. It's justified since as the title of the film suggests, Maruti is the reincarnation of Hanuman, a Hindu god.

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* In the ''[[Mistborn]]'' trilogy, Vin, who is barely over five feet tall is one of the most powerful of the titular Mistborn, including the use of pewter which gives her super stamina and strength. This is often used to her advantage, as her opponents are less likely to see her as a threat.

 

* Cameron from ''[[Terminator]]: [[The Sarah Connor Chronicles]]''

* Rommie, the Andromeda Ascendant's [[Robot Girl|android avatar]] from ''[[Andromeda|Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda]]'': A petite brunette shown capable of taking on multiple super-strong Nietzscheans.

* ''[[Smallville]]'''s Tess Mercer is a [[Dark Action Girl]] who does not believe in [[Waif Fu]]. Most other girls on the show dance around their opponents and use a lot of kicks. Tess prefers to just punch you in the face.

* Do Bong-soon, title character of the South Korean series ''[[Strong Girl Bong-soon]]'', is a petite (5'2"), slightly built woman who looks at least ten years younger than her actual age of 27, and is the latest recipient of a gift of supernatural strength that is passed down through her family. Despite initially having no training in hand-to-hand combat, she is shown effortlessly defeating groups of men much larger than her, and in one episode deliberately walks into an ambush set for her to demolish every man in an entire criminal organization.

 

== Music ==

* Noodle of the band [[Gorillaz]]. Being the product of a [[Super Soldier]] project, she has mastery of all forms of weaponry as well as hand to hand combat.

 

== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==

* Several of the comedy-based wrestling promotions in Japan feature [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RseGEw0sY1w Kaicho Ramu], whose gimmick is that she is a little girl, possessed by a demon, and strong enough to casually suplex and chokeslam adults. She actually started when she was 6 years old and (as of 2009) is 8 or 9 years old.

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sJksFd5AfI&feature=related Riho] of the Ice Ribbon promotion has a similar gimmick, minus the possessed by a demon thing. She started when she was 8 years old and (as of 2011) is 13.

 

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* In the both ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade]]'' and ''[[Vampire: The Requiem]]'', vampires don't age after being turned. So, in theory, if someone was Embraced four hundred years ago as an eleven-year-old girl, she could have all the awesome might of the most powerful vampire elders and look quite harmless. Similarly, it's noted in a few supplements that due to nutrition, most people were much shorter than modern average a long time ago, so that "short" vampires accorded respect by vampires you believe to be stronger than you should be afforded every courtesy...

* In the ''[[Pathfinder]] RPG'', there is a feat called Childlike that allows Halflings to appear to be human children. On the other hand it also has massive [[Squick]] potential...

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

** The Moogle Knight class is a male example - sword-wielding brawlers of a [[Ridiculously Cute Critter|cute fuzzy race]] whose other classes tend towards the [[Fragile Speedster]] and [[Squishy Wizard]] archetypes.

* [[Final Fantasy Type-0|Cinque]] is a cute flower of a girl carrying a ''humongous'' mace around, and takes pleasure in swinging it all around without a care.

* Kaen from ''[[Kakurenbo Battle Monster Tactics]]'' is a confident female monster hunter whose element is fire.

* There are a lot of characters in ''[[Touhou]]'' who could qualify. However, the greatest example would be Suika Ibuki, being barely three feet tall and about as developed as a six-year old... and an Oni with enough muscular power to smash a mountain to pieces between drunken binges.

* [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Amy Rose]], a girly pink hedgehog who has actually fully utilized her [[Hyperspace Mallet]] as her [[Weapon of Choice]]. Even in ''[[Sonic Chronicles]]'' she's classified as a support character, but has enough damage output to put the [[An Adventurer Is You|designated heavy hitters]] to shame. Her [[Sidekick]] Cream the Rabbit is a Cute Bruiser by proxy, letting Cheese, her [[Mon|Chao partner]] do the heavy hitting. (though in ''Chronicles'' she becomes the [[Game Breaker|best]] [[White Magician Girl|White Mage]] ''[[Game Breaker|ever]]'')

* Most female weapon-users in the ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' series are [[Fragile Speedster]]s or [[The Archer]], but ''Sacred Stones'' gave us Amelia, who starts out as a fairly raw recruit but can eventually become a General, Great Knight, or Paladin—or, for maximum application of this trope, take the "Super-Recruit" path, thus doing massive damage (as super-recruits have high [[Critical Hit]] rates) with a lance larger than she is.

** Meg from ''Radiant Dawn'' is yet another possible future General.

** Nono from ''[[Fire Emblem: Awakening]]'' can become one if she class changes into a Dragon Knight, as she's easily the youngest looking character out of the entire cast, yet potentially just as capable of handling a huge battle axe or lance.

** To drive the point home, if you are a muscular man that can put The Governator to shame and defeat a whole army of marines, you stand a chance at surviving an encounter with a C-class Darkstalker. A and S-class Darkstalkers (the highest there are) are outright terrified of Bulleta.

** Hsien-Ko/Lei-Lei fits this trope as well perfectly. A cute and apparently harmless Chinese zombie girl, she can hold a wholesome set of weapons of all kinds of sizes and shapes in her sleeves. Not to mention she has strength enough to throw a character bigger than her into air.

* Annie from ''[[League of Legends]]''. To clarify, Annie is an eight-year-old girl, with [[Kill It with Fire|masterful pyrokinesis]] and failing that, a 12-foot-tall feral ''shadow bear'' bound to her will... God help you if she invites 'Tibbers' to play.

* In ''[[Fable II]]'' your hero as a child doesn't nearly match the levels of the other cute bruisers on the list, but he or she still manages to take down a much larger, stronger bully who managed to take down a similarly aged teen (namely Rose, your sister) with a single surprising headbutt. And does it in five short strikes with a wooden sword or a similar number of shots from a spit-shooter.

** A human example of this trope is Maylene from ''[[Pokémon Diamond and Pearl]]''.

** Whitney and her team from '"[[Pokémon Gold and Silver]]''. If you manage to beat her Clefairy, her Miltank will trash you.

* Ceille from ''[[Arc Rise Fantasia]]'' is only 12, but her punches can send people flying.

* {{spoiler|Zelkova}} from ''[[.hack GU Games|.hack//G.U.]]'', who is a [[Sinister Scythe|Flick Reaper]].

* Cecille in ''[[Suikoden]] III''. Cute as a button teen girl who's shorter than even Thomas (and Thomas is a shrimp, by his own admission). She also patrols Budehuc Castle all day ''in full plate armor'', wielding a spear ''larger than she is'' and a buckler, and trains every morning by ''running two miles'' in said plate armor. Her exclusive War Horse rune is also one of the most damaging attacks in the game, although it has low accuracy.

 

* Tomoyo Sakagami of ''[[Clannad (visual novel)|Clannad]]'' is a quiet, somewhat soft-spoken young lady who aims to be student council president. She also used to (and still can) beat up gangs of delinquents with her bare hands and can deliver upwards of 500 kicks in a matter of two to three seconds with enough force to lift her targets off the ground and keep them there.

* Shikikargura from [[Visual Novel]] ''[[Princess Waltz]]'' is about half the height of the other princesses and carries no weapon. Don't think that makes her weak.

 

== [[Web Animation]] ==

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

* Tehmel from ''[[Earthsong]]''.

* ''[[Errant Story]]'' has Sara Amraphel. The cute younger sister of gunslinging hitman John, she's also a warrior-monk with time-control magic and a magical [[vibroweapon]].

* [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=72716 Summer] from ''[[Everyday Heroes]]'' is fourteen. Her power is mainly held in check by the fact that she hates being different from her classmates, and rarely uses her abilities.

* ''[[The Cyantian Chronicles]]'': See Action Girl above, except Celina, who is more intimidating than cute.

* Tristan from ''[[Angel Moxie]]'' is a combination of this trope and [[Dark Action Girl]].

* Kieri of ''[[Slightly Damned]]'' may be unassuming and socially awkward, but that sword [http://www.sdamned.com/2006/09/09162006/ isn't just for show].

* "Wreck Lass" from [https://web.archive.org/web/20170925025149/http://newhavencomics.com/ Zero`s Heroes]

* Nova from ''[[Overlord Academy]]''.

* In ''[[Sinfest]]'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209190143/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=4247 Fuchsia resorts to violence against demonic bullies.]

* Little Sappho from ''[[The Adventures of Gyno Star]]'' is adorably cute, but can be extremely strong and violent when she uses her power of [http://www.gynostar.com/archives/824/ Righteous Lesbian Rage].

 

== [[Web Original]] ==

* [[Shadow Unit]]'s Nikki Lau may well qualify as this.

* Saga of ''[[Notting Cove]]''. Characters comment on her cuteness and she easily defeats a character known for being ridiculously strong. She's also the youngest of the cast.

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

** Well, [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|Rainbow Dash]] herself isn't that bad. In wrestling part she easily won Applejack over.

 

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/india/6253878/Worlds-youngest-female-karate-black-belt-arrives-in-UK.html Varsha Vinod, 5-year-old black belt].

* Giuliano Stroe. Just because he's about six doesn't mean he can't kick you ass.

* Kid bodybuilder Richard Sandark.

* [http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/10-old-naomi-kutin-sets-women-world-lifting-145919498.html Naomi Kutin] record holding weightlifter, elementary school student, [[TV Tropes]] example.