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{{trope}}
[[File:
{{quote|''"Your presence itself is like shouting."''
|'''[[Deadpan Snarker|Yomi]]''', to Tomo (pictured at right), from ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]''}}
"Genki" is Japanese for energetic or enthusiastic. The '''Genki Girl''' is a character—usually a schoolgirl, but not always—who acts like she's been mainlining Red Bull and crystal meth. She is possessed of an over-abundance of energy, such that she [[Thundering Herd|runs everywhere]] (often with arms [[Human Hummingbird|waving wildly]] or [[Airplane Arms|outstretched like airplane wings]]), [[Motor Mouth|speaks quickly]] (sometimes unintelligibly so), and always does everything fast, ''fast'', '''''fast!''''' She's filled with confidence and determination, regardless of whether she's competent or not. Although usually played exclusively for comedy, sometimes the Genki Girl slows down for a serious or introspective moment. But not for long - she lives her life full-throttle. To sum it up, a good way of telling whether a female character is ''genki'' or not is to see if her family and peers are exhausted, astonished or even creeped out by her chronic outbursts of vitality. (A female character is by far the more common version, but this trope is not limited to females.)
Despite what you'd think, the Genki Girl is usually not [[The Ditz]]. However, there have been a few blends. She is, of course, very often a [[Motor Mouth]] or [[The Nicknamer|a Nicknamer]]. If she focuses her powers on getting a boring guy to relish life, she's a [[Manic Pixie Dream Girl]]. Less sympathetic portrayals often make her the [[Jerkass]] of the group. Alternatively she could be both. Some are even the resident [[Cloudcuckoolander]].
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Contrast [[Emotionless Girl]].
----
{{examples}}
== Female examples ==
* Flo from the Progressive Insurance commercials.▼
=== Anime and Manga ===
* Kurata Sana from ''[[Kodomo no Omocha]]'' is the archetypical Genki Girl. The [[Fan Vid]] ''[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jc8dFL9Mk0o Caffeine Ecomium]'' gives some inkling of just how energetic she is; ''none of the sequences in this video have been sped up''.
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* In [[The Ditz]] variation, Kana in ''[[Minami-ke]]'' steals the show from her [[Little Miss Snarker]] and [[Onee-Sama]] sisters.
* The Tachikomas from ''[[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]'' are Genki ''tanks''.
* ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]'':
* Nakuru Akizuki from ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]'', who is also a [[Manipulative Bastard]]. And being a technically genderless spirit being rather than a human girl, though she more or less refers to herself as a girl.▼
** Sakura Kinomoto
▲** Nakuru Akizuki
* Hana-chan from ''[[Ojamajo Doremi]]''.
* Yotsuba from ''[[
* Lulu from ''[[Blood
* Several characters in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' count; Makie is the most notable example. The entirety of [[Elaborate University High|Mahora Academy]] is described as such, [[Keet|even the boys]], by the ''teachers themselves''. It was stated that during a previous [[School Festival]], they arranged an academy-wide game of ''tag'', and afterwards decided not to do that again because there were too many ''injuries''. That year, they were going for a (slightly) more sedate game of Hide-N-Seek, until the [[Big Bad]] of that arc provided an army of robots, and they decided to unleash the students on ''them'' instead.
* Winry Rockbell of all incarnations of the ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'' series. She goes full-on [[Bishie Sparkle]], [[Squee]], and arm-wavy mode whenever she sees something cute or acting cute (Elysia Hughes weeded this mode out of her the first few minutes after she met her), something's caught her interest (mainly anything involving automail, i.e. Rush Valley, or a shopping spree in Central), or a rather vicious (and comic) argument with Ed (again, mainly over automail). The times that she's ''not'' Genki mode are when she's realized something tragic or an error in her construction ({{spoiler|e.g., learning about Maes' death or discovering the missing screw in Ed's newly-constructed automail arm ''after'' he left to go investigate Laboratory #5}}), or when she's concentrating on building a new automail body part.
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** Rosette is what happens when you give a Genki Girl a loaded weapon. [[Stuff Blowing Up|It's probably a good idea to run]].
** On the villain's side is also Shader, a [[Catgirl]] [[Our Demons Are Different|demon]]. In the manga she has her serious moments, but in the anime she's 100% [[Perky Female Minion]].
* Misa from ''[[Death Note]]''. [[Ax Crazy|Creepiest.]] [[Psycho for Hire|Genki]] [[
* Renge from ''[[Flame of Recca]]'' is also a strong contender for that title.
* ''[[Code Geass]]'':
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* Yuki from ''[[Saki (manga)|Saki]]'', though it's actually a bit of a problem for her Mahjong playing since she loses focus after the initial rounds causing her game to drop.
* Natsumi from ''[[Taiho Shichauzo]]'' (aka "You're Under Arrest") is genki and loud most of the time.
▲* Sakura Kinomoto from ''[[Cardcaptor Sakura]]''. She is also very good at cheerleading, skateboarding, video games, and even sports.
* Sakuya from ''[[Hayate the Combat Butler]]'', a genki [[Girl/tsundere|tsundere]] combo.
* A-Ko Magami and C-ko Kotobuki from ''[[Project A-ko]]''.
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* Niea from ''[[NieA 7]]'' arguably qualifies, even though she mixes her energetic nature with being a total [[Jerkass]].
* Nikotama Sara from [[Ai no Shintairiku]] acts like this to come off as cute.
* You could consider Akira Kogami from ''[[Lucky Star]]'' fit into this trope, but you aren't seeing her [[
** Yui would also count. Minami muses that innocent little Yutaka will take on her personality as time goes on, upon meeting her for the first time.
* Haruhara Haruko from ''[[FLCL]]'' calms down for maybe thirty seconds an episode, and sometimes not even that much.
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* Hachi from [[Nana]] is called a puppy by her roommate for her energy and desire to please.
* Chizuru Sarashina from ''[[Wandering Son]]'' is a wacky and eccentric girl who does what she wants to, even going against her schools clothing rules (she wore a bikini instead of the school swimsuit once, sometimes wears a tie instead of a ribbon, and wears the boy's uniform occasionally).
* Last Order a.k.a. [[Cloning Blues|
* Suruga Kanberu from ''[[Bakemonogatari]]'' fits this trope well.
* Tomoko Arikura from ''[[Oniisama e...]]'', in contrast to her best friend [[Shrinking Violet|Nanako]].
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* The Regency Elf in ''[[Cerebus the Aardvark]]''.
* Deconstructed in [[Young Liars]]. Sadie acts the way she does because a bullet in her brain destroyed her inhibitions and ability to realize consequences.
▲* Flo from the Progressive Insurance commercials.
=== Fan Works ===
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* Alyssa from ''[[Keepers of the Elements]]''.
* The fan fiction ''[[Nobody Dies]]'' takes this treatment of [[Neon Genesis Evangelion|Rei]] and gives it [[Crazy Awesome|a]] [[Sociopathic Hero|few]] [[Eldritch Abomination|twists]].
=== Film -- Animated ===
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* Charlotte from ''[[The Princess and the Frog]]'' is a Genki Girl that seems to move entirely too fast [[The Ditz|for her brain to catch up]].
* ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'' has Ariel who frustrates her father with how energetic and adventurous she is. Years later when she's grown out of it she ironically describes herself as "a real fish out of water".
=== Film -- Live Action ===
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* Eden Brent in ''[[Bullets Over Broadway]]'', inspiring the above page quote.
* Quorra from ''[[Tron: Legacy]]'' is very much one when not in a life-threatening situation.
=== Literature ===
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* Pauline Stoker from [[P. G. Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]]'s ''[[Jeeves and Wooster (novel)|Thank You, Jeeves]]''.
▲=== Live Action TV ===
* [[Rachael Ray]] from her eponymous talk show. She purposely avoids "sob stories" and almost always has a smile on her face. She also works 100-hour weeks and is a rather shrewd businesswoman, and her energy and determination are usually quoted as the source of her success.
* Giada De Laurentis is a somewhat more sedate Genki Girl, also on Food Network. What probably helps is that, with that largish head and especially large eyes of hers, she even almost looks like a real-life anime girl. [http://www.joeydevilla.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/giada-enthusiasm.jpg Or, to put it visually....]
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* Emma from ''[[Jessie]]''.
* Kang Jong Hee in ''[[Wild Romance]]'' is {{spoiler|bipolar, so she goes through periods of excitability and depression}}. When she's happy, she's exceedingly happy and takes to biting people.
=== Professional Wrestling ===
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* Christy Hemme from the first Diva Search was like this, standing out as the only girl who actually had a lot of personality. [[Trish Stratus]] even told her with her winnings she could go buy herself some decaf. Christy responded "it's all natural".
* Jessica James from the indie circuit and [[SHIMMER]] fame is like this as well. It rubbed off on her tag team partner Rachel Summerlynn when they formed Rachel And Jessica's Excellent Tag Team.
=== Tabletop Games ===
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* From the list of [[Things Mr. Welch Is No Longer Allowed to Do In An RPG]]:
{{quote|48. The elf is restricted to decaf for the rest of the adventure.}}
=== Video Games ===
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* Female Tico from ''[[Devil Survivor 2]]''.
* Miley Verisse of ''[[Cherry Tree High Comedy Club]]''. Most of her peers think of her as a weirdo because she's passionate about stand-up comedy.
=== Visual Novels ===
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* From ''[[Katawa Shoujo]]'', Emi and Misha, who are rather...[[Stepford Smiler|interesting variants of the trope]]. For Emi, {{spoiler|while she indeed is a cheery girl, it turns out she's not as drama (or trauma)-free as she initially seems. The loss of her legs was traumatic, but she learned to cope with that well. The loss of her ''[[Disappeared Dad|dad]]'' she did not cope with at all. Part of getting her happy ending is to help her deal with her loss.}} In Misha's case, {{spoiler|it's partly a pretense to hide the emotional trauma of Shizune rejecting her love confession, as well as being [[Love Hurts|a coping mechanism for said trauma]].}}
▲=== Webcomics ===
* Sapphire from ''[[Monsterful]]'': The energetic zombie teenager is way faster and louder than a zombie should be.
* Kiki from the [[Web Comic]] ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]''. The one time they feed her Pixie Stix, she [[Efficient Displacement|makes a ferret-shaped hole in the wall]], and circles the Earth three times before the others had even reacted.
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* Felucca from ''[[Earthsong]]''.
* The always-enthusiastic Molly the Peanut Butter Monster from ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]].'' It probably helps that she has a super-fast metabolism and can outrun a bear.
* Freddy from ''[[
* Fio from ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20170802124754/http://www.revenant-braves.schala.net/ Circumstances of the Revenant Braves]'' is a girl of action and gets restless when sitting around for too long. She even hopes for trouble if it will alleviate her boredom.
* ''[[Girl Genius]]''
** A [[Crosses the Line Twice|comically]] [[Ax Crazy]] version - Bangladesh DuPree. Her [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20040121 first] phrase in the comic is "''Ta daa! I'' am ''here!''" accompanied by wide smile and throwing hands up, and on the next page she just as cheerfully proclaims "''Nobody'' knows more [[Torture Technician|about torture]] than ''me''!".
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* Myari, from ''[[Ears for Elves]]'', is this. Much to the chagrin of Elon who is the other half of their [[Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl|Duo]].
* Holly from ''[[mezzacotta|Lightning Made of Owls]]''.Sure, some think it's annoying. But she's [http://www.mezzacotta.net/owls/?comic=18 not] easy to discourage.
* [https://backlashcomic.tumblr.com/post/186448812263/281 Marcy Breeze] from ''[[BACKLASH]]''. «Kids think she's cool, adults think she has too much energy.»
=== Web Original ===
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* Mei from ''[[Land Games]]''.
* Ruby Rose from ''[[RWBY]]'' shows genki tendencies but also seems more than capable of slowing down and being calm when the moment calls for it.
=== Western Animation ===
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* Cindy, one of the kindergarteners from ''[[Recess]]''. Miss Grotke can be a mild example at times.
* Odd Della Robbia in ''[[Code Lyoko]]'' has plenty of energy and confidence. And his Lyoko Warrior form is cat-based.
=== Real Life ===
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=== Comic Books ===
* Most of the [[Robin]]s have this to some extent, although this was most obvious in Golden Age Robin (which was translated into that of the TV series.)
=== Literature ===
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* Fregley from [[Diary of a Wimpy Kid]].
* Jeko from the ''[[Col Sec Trilogy]]'' is a small, wiry, hyperactive young man who's always trying to rile the resident [[Tsundere]]. (On an off note, although it's ''not'' anime, it's mentioned at one point that he's Japanese-American.) Enough said.
=== Newspaper Comics ===
* ''[[Beetle Bailey]]'s'' Asian [[Token Minority]] character Corporal Yo sometimes has the trait of getting really, really excited about anything he finds interesting, and he likes to run around doing everything as quickly and efficiently as possible.
=== Video Games ===
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* Kieran from ''[[Fire Emblem]]'': ''[[Fire Emblem Tellius|Path of Radiance]]'' and ''Radiant Dawn'': a [[Genki Boy]] who is obsessed with glory. Unfortunately, he and Mia never interact.
* ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'''s Elan is happy-go-lucky and energetic.▼
▲=== Webcomics ===
▲* ''[[Order of the Stick]]'''s Elan is happy-go-lucky and energetic.
* [[Fun Personified|Taisei]] from ''[[Sakana]]'', who is [[Up to Eleven|extremly cheerful]], light-hearted and energetic.
=== Western Animation ===
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Tropes of Legend]]
[[Category:Harem Genre]]
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[[Category:Extraversion Tropes]]
[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]
[[Category:
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