Gentle Giant: Difference between revisions

 

{{examples}}

* Ho, Ho, Ho, Green Giant

* According to this [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwM2pBTLdxs&feature=feedu commercial], Flo from Progressive is one.

 

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* Narumi of ''[[Karakuri Circus]]'' qualifies; he's a massive martial artist, and even has a rough attitude and temper, but he will never harm someone who doesn't deserve it in the utmost.

* Randall from ''[[Pumpkin Scissors]]''.

* Muay Thay god of Death Apachai Hopachai, from ''[[Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple]]'', has this trope´s name carved in his forehead.

* Just about any Zentradi on ''[[Macross]]'' after the original series.

** In Charizard's Burning Ambition, the largest Charizard in the Charicific Valley was said to be the most docile, until Ash's own Charizard tried to pick a fight with it.

* Makoto Kino/Sailor Jupiter from ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' is a [[Huge Schoolgirl]], [[The Big Guy|The Big Gal]] in her [[Five-Man Band|Five Woman Band]], and is very, ''very'' strong. Despite her history of being a supposed delinquent and her agressiveness in battle, she is actually very sweet and emphatic.

* Ooshima, the huge high school athlete from ''[[Emerging]]''. Exemplified by his shy/loving relationship with his girlfriend Misaki whose only about half as tall and wide as the shoulder as her boyfriend, this couple make a very cute [[Huge Guy, Tiny Girl]] couple.

* Rashid Kurama from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam Wing|Gundam Wing]]'' is the very tall, very badass, and very devoted leader of Quatre's group, the Magnac Corps.

* In [[Alejandro Jodorowsky]]'s ''[[Megalex]]'', Ram generally has a kind and compassionate personality, but he is capable of violence when necessary.

 

* Pictured above: In ''[[The Iron Giant]],'' the eponymous giant is a rather pensive, sweet robot who is horrified when a deer dies in front of him, declares himself not a gun, and gets a lesson on souls from his young human friend, Hogarth. However, {{spoiler|threatening to attack him or hurting Hogarth is not advised, as he can very well be a walking ''arsenal.''}}

* ''[[Shrek]]'' deserves a mention here. He's a misanthropic loner, but never actually hurts anyone unless they really really deserve it.

** Let's not forget Dragon here; seemingly vicious at first, she turns out to have a soft side, [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming|and is even open to the idea of being Donkey's girlfriend]].

* Manfred the mammoth from ''[[Ice Age]]'', as well as fellow mammoth Ellie and sloth-like creature Cholly from the sequel. Mama T-Rex from the third movie could count as well, as long as you aren't whoever she wants for dinner...

* Sully from ''[[Monsters, Inc.]]'', especially considering he takes advantage of his fearsome appearance to [[Punch Clock Villain|scare kids to collect their screams as energy]].

** The difference between his job persona and his amiable personality is pulled off ''very'' well; when we've become used to him as an [[Ugly Cute]] fatherly figure, it's quite a shock to see him in full-on scare mode.

* Beast from Disney's ''[[Beauty and the Beast]]'', after he [[The Power of Love|is moved by the love of a]] beautiful woman.

* Chien-Po from ''[[Mulan]]'' is soft-spoken and loves to eat more than anything, but his strength comes in handy when needed.

* First mate Mr. Arrow from ''[[Treasure Planet]]''. He's an enormous creature apparently made out of ''rock,'' yet he's the most approachable member of the crew. {{spoiler|Until he gets killed, that is.}}

* [[The Hunchback of Notre Dame|Quasimodo]] is an interesting example, as due to his physical deformity he stands shorter than most men, but he still counts specifically because a lifetime of ringing the bells of Notre Dame Cathedral have left him strong enough to shatter iron chains with his bare hands.

* As a matter of perspective, Tiger from ''[[An American Tail]]'' is one. While no bigger than any other cat, he's a "giant" compared to most of the cast.

* ''[[The Blind Side]]'': Michael.

* One from ''[[The City of Lost Children]]''.

** Really, most anyone played by Fred Gwynne qualifies. His 6'5" frame, baritone voice, and pleasant, shy nature made him a natural for these parts.

* Big Bird on ''[[Sesame Street]]''. His foreign counterparts play the trope straight (Abelardo from Plaza Sesamo, Pino from Sesamstraat, Moshe the giant [[Seldom-Seen Species|meerkat]] from Takalani Sesame, [[King of Beasts|Boombah the lion]] from Galli Galli Sim Sim, and Sesamstraße's Samson averting the [[Everything's Worse with Bears]] trope.)

* Jaime Palillo from ''[[Carrusel]]''. Big, strong, loud, gluttonous- but friendly towards everyone, laid back, and always in a good mood.

** It's [[In the Blood]], actually: his parents are seen on-screen, and both Mr. and Mrs. Palillo are just as large and kind-hearted as their son.

* Conrad from ''[[Wild Boys]]''. The biggest of the bushrangers, he is the only one who isn't an outlaw at heart; having being forced to give up an honest trade (farrier) and turn criminal when he was framed for a crime he did not commit.

* Subverted in ''[[Septimus Heap]]'' with the dragon Spit Fyre, since while he's depicted as being rather gentle in the first books, in ''Darke'' it's mentioned that he nearly ate a person who had run into his Dragon House for a dare.

 

== [[Music]] ==

* During [[The Seventies]], there was a British [[Progressive Rock]] band named [[wikipedia:Gentle Giant|Gentle Giant]]. Talk about [[A Good Name for a Rock Band]]...

* Not a song, but a performer: [[Barry White]]. The Walrus of Love was a huge guy, but as easygoing and loving as you could find.

 

== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==

* Big Stoop from ''[[Terry and the Pirates]]''.

 

== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==

* Even [[The Big Show]] has dabbled into this trope on occasion whenever he's teamed with the smallest guys on the roster such as Spike Dudley or Rey Mysterio. Harshly adverted as a heel.

 

* Cloud giants in ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' are literally Gentle Giants who mostly care about philosophy and the arts, but woe to the evildoer who pisses one off.

** Prior to 4th Edition, storm giants were also generally very pleasant people in most settings.

== [[Video Games]] ==

* Claude from ''[[Shining Force]]'' 2 is a golem that served the ancients even before you get the chance to add him to your party, the turtle pet you can get can also evolve into a "monster" that's actually kind and helpful... and has a [[Game Breaker|gamebreaking]] fire-breath attack.

* Zhong the Ox carrier from ''[[Jade Empire]]'', an ogre - a member of a normally brutal and territorial race - that ran away from home because he accidentally killed one of his master's oxen. Another example is Chai Ka; a demon that inhabits the body of a little girl.

** Subversion in the same game: [[Ax Crazy]] [[Boisterous Bruiser]] Black Whirlwind.

* Potemkin in the ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' series is an example; he also has mild [[Genius Bruiser]] leanings, being highly intelligent and rather philosophical, although sometimes rather naive.

* Generally, the characters belonging to the Fighter, Warrior and/or Berserker classes (all of them axe users) in ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' are sort-of different subversions of the Gentle Giant. The closest are:

** The Knight Arden and General Hannibal (FE 4);

* Golem, Seere's pact-partner in ''[[Drakengard]]'', is under this category. He only becomes angry if anyone ever threatens his [[Kid With the Remote Control]].

* Shigen of the ''[[Last Blade]]'' series is extremely large and powerful, and, with his [[Elemental Powers|stone abilities]], he can partially become an even more powerful [[Living Statue]]. Despite his fearsome appearance, he's a dutiful father to his adopted daughter Kotetsu.

** Also, the [[Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti|Igasho]] race. The tallest (averaging nine feet or more) and [[Constitution|hardiest]] mortal race, they tend to be solitary wanderers, but are generally courteous in their dealings with the outside world.

* The Big Daddies of ''[[BioShock (series)|BioShock]]'' are enormously gentle and overprotective of the Little Sisters they've been programmed to safeguard, to the point where the Little Sisters consider them close friends, and the worst they'll do to anything not a direct threat to it or the Little Sister (including you as long as you don't attack it or the Sister) is either shove it out of the way or try to intimidate it by basically shouting at it. This makes the ''immensely'' violent and destructive shift they undergo [[Berserk Button|when the Little Sister is in danger]] all the more shocking and disconcerting.

* Victor von Gerdenheim of the ''[[Darkstalkers]]'' series is a kind-hearted [[Frankenstein's Monster]] who loves his "father" and his [[Dead Little Sister]] Emily. Basically the only reason he fights is to find a way to revive Emily, which he eventually does by sacrificing his own life.

** Huitzil/Phobos also has traits of this. On the first game he's often seen with birds perching on him, while on the second game he looks after a little boy named Cecil.

** O'Hanrahan from ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'', as one of the tallest humans in the game he states that his mother used to tell him, "You're the biggest and strongest of us, so you mind yourself" he also cites this as the reason behind his tendency towards pacifism and diplomacy. Easily one of the politest NPCs in game, his method for solving the quest he's in yields the best results in the [[Where Are They Now? Epilogue|epilogue.]] Also, there's [[Deathbringer the Adorable|Mean Sonofabitch]], the Super Mutant protector of Westside.

* MASK De Smith of ''[[Killer7]]''. A huge, burly man in a suit, cape and wrestling mask, armed with [[BFG|two grenade launchers]] that burn his enemies to the ground, but he's a surprisingly nice, mellow guy under the mask.

* Subverted with The Heavy from ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'':

* According to his entry in the ''[[Mega Man and Bass]]'' robot database, ''[[Mega Man 1]]'s'' Guts Man is one of these. Specifically, it states that he is sentimental, hates arguments, and likes karaoke.

* Steelheart Massimo fills this trope nicely. He's a massive reploid from ''[[Mega Man X Command Mission]]'' in equally massive armor, wielding an equally massive beam-axe. Though not "dumb", his primary function (was?) is combat, but he has a great personality, once you get past his scaredy-cat nature. Notable acts range from hurling a Maverick larger/denser then Flame Mammoth across a room with one arm, as well as using his body as a shield to cover a covert- and nurse-type reploid from a really really big gunship's heavy laser cannons. Despite acts of great strength and defense, he's oftentimes heard whining about how things can't be done peacefully.

* Chunky Kong of ''[[Donkey Kong 64]]''. He has a rather childlike demeanor, and yet he's the biggest and burliest of the playable kongs. A further example of his gentleness is the fact that his musical instrument is the triangle.

* Will Powers from the ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' series. When people first meet him, they [[Face of a Thug|look at his face]] and presume he's guilty. After spending five minutes with him, they'll insist he's innocent.

* ''[[Rift]]'''s bahmi are basically the [[World of Warcraft|draenei]] of Telara.

* Brutosaurs from ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', enormous dinosaurs native native to Zandalar. Peaceful herbivores for the most part, they're so gentle you can feed them like you would a [[Big Friendly Dog]]. In fact, one achievement requires you to do just that.

 

* Rich of ''[[Thespiphobia]]'' is usually this ('''usually'''). [[Berserk Button|Mess]] [[Beware the Nice Ones|with]] [[Papa Wolf|his]] [[True Companions|friends]], [[Oh Crap|however]]...

* The "Monster in the Darkness" is a gentle giant played straight. Terribly powerfull and scary, but turns out to be a nice guy.

** Also Thunder, looking past the fact that he and his brother Lightning love destroying every inanimate object in sight.

** And Red Star practically lives this troupe, even though the alternative is so much easier.

* Female example: Eva from ''[[Igor]]''. She's a lumbering giant, but very sweet.

* Winsor Gorilla from ''[[My Gym Partner's a Monkey]]''. He's also somewhat of a genius.

* Baby Huey in the old Harvey cartoons.

* The Incredibly Stupid Swamp Monster from ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'' (''U.S. Acres'' segment) is actually a giant robot created by a [[Mad Scientist]] who, despite his best efforts, couldn't make his creation very smart; turns out in this case, [[Dumb Is Good]].

* Gor from ''[[Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys]]''. He really hates to fight, and often does so only if his friends are in danger. His pacifistic nature causes him to try and talk to the villains, but it rarely works (except in one [[Aesop]] episode); and there have been occasions where his own friends [[Berserk Button|goaded]] him into transforming into Gormungus, a hulk-like creature, to win battles or save a crew member, usually Spydor.

** He actually managed to talk several gladiators (at least one on screen) out of their job in the episode where he received his [[One-Winged Angel|Gormungus]] mutation- up until then, pushing his [[Berserk Button]] resulted in something more like an [[Unstoppable Rage]].

* Both Owen and DJ on ''[[Total Drama Island]]''.

* Kronk from ''[[The Emperor's New Groove]]'', despite working for [[Big Bad|Yzma.]]

 

== [[Real Life]] ==

* At 6'4'', Jared Padalecki towers over his ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' co-stars. However, he's well-known for being an extremely friendly goofball and a dog-lover to boot.

* Seven-foot and 1.5 inch actor Richard Kiel who played "Jaws" in the ''[[James Bond]]'' movies ''[[The Spy Who Loved Me]]'' and ''[[Moonraker]]''. Lewis Gilbert, director of those two films, says on the DVD featurette for ''TSWLM'': "He was a remarkable size, but like all giants he was sweet and charming and a real pussycat."

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:More Than Meets the Eye]]

[[Category:Characters As Device]]

[[Category:Truth in Television]]

[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]