Cool Big Sis



If your show is aimed at a younger audience, this young woman (usually in her mid to late teens, sometimes in her early 20s) will be older than the Shorttank and be the girl everyone thinks is hot (if they're nice) or a slut (if they're not). The Shorttank girls often admire them, even when they playfully flirt with the much younger male lead and steal everyone's attention. Also, the Yamato Nadeshiko or Shrinking Violet girls will admire and at the same time envy how more open their Big Sister figure is with her thoughts and feelings.

This young lady may or may not catch a Shonen series lead's eye; if he hasn't entered puberty yet, she's more likely to be paired up with either The Big Guy, the Team Dad or the Big Brother Mentor. Or maybe, if she's persistent enough, she'll end up in an Odd Couple with an Aloof Big Brother or a single Hot Dad. She may also evolve into a Team Mom thanks to Character Development.

Expect a somewhat jaded, cynical character who prefers to work the system in their favor rather than admit to others she's become cynical. If old enough to drink, she may also be a Bottle Fairy, or even The Ladette; if not, she'll often be a Lethal Chef and/or Big Eater. If older than the standard, she might be a Christmas Cake as well. She's often a Good Bad Girl.

The trope can apply to male characters as a lesser form of the Big Brother Mentor. This type is more commonly applied to a level-headed Non-Action Guy or a Nice Guy whose main job is to be a mediator in a group or take care of the kids.

Compare Onee-Sama, also a sister figure but usually more ladylike, quiet and graceful, and Aloof Big Brother, where the status causes a conflict between the (usually male) siblings.

Anime and Manga

 * Satella from Chrono Crusade fits this trope somewhat, although Azmaria is the only one that really looks up to her. (Rosette is generally more frustrated with her antics than anything, although there's moments where they share bits of advice with each other.)
 * And of course, Rosette plays the role straight towards Azmaria, as the picture above shows.
 * The GODDESS of Cool Big Sisters: Kazumi Amano of Gunbuster.
 * Milly Ashford, the Student Council President from Code Geass, is actually referred to on the show's official website as a "reliable older sister" to her friends (when she isn't tormenting them with her playful antics and "magic spells"). She's one of the more popular side characters due to this, as well as her... um... huge tracts of land and eagerness to grope the female Student Council members.
 * Cornelia is one to her little sister Euphemia, who in turn was one to Nunnally.
 * In One Piece, Nami and Robin tend to alternate between this and the Team Mom trope. Nami is definitely the Cool Big Sis type to both Vivi and Chopper, while to the rest of the crew, she is definitely the Team Mom. Robin is the Cool Big Sis to Nami, and is often referred to as "oneesama" by Nami.
 * Nami also has Nojiko, her "sister" who was adopted with her by Bellemere.
 * In Ranma ½, though she ends up playing the Yamato Nadeshiko so straight she becomes a parody of it, Kasumi Tendô is a gentle, kindhearted woman who holds the Tendô household together, always tries to comfort her family, thinks the best of others and displays a subtle comic wit, often trying to pull off a one-woman Boke and Tsukkomi Routine. Akane Tendô, her Tsundere little sister whom she helped raise, adores her "Kasumi-neechan" and desperately wants to be like her, but without giving up her martial arts abilities.
 * Misato Katsuragi in Neon Genesis Evangelion. Or at least, she attempts to be one.
 * Averted for both Lina and Amelia in Slayers; Lina is terrified of her older sister, Luna, who allegedly put her through torment during her childhood (which Lina did deserve), and
 * Mai Kujaku/Valentine in Yu-Gi-Oh! to Shizuka/Serenity and, to a lesser extent, Tea/Anzu.
 * Urd of Ah! My Goddess, to both younger sister Skuld and Keiichi on occasion, though with mixed success. Skuld seems to regard Belldandy more as her Cool Big Sis than Urd.
 * Nice Holystone and eventually from Baccano!.
 * Shigure Asa of SHUFFLE!, who is also a Genki Girl Bokukko to boot.
 * Reki in Haibane Renmei is this to all the younger characters.
 * Seiji's big sister Rin in Midori no Hibi is a mild exaggeration and subversion. Seiji's already pretty damned cool himself, but his sister is over the top—although she dresses like an Office Lady, she leads a biker gang, and generally takes all the usual Cool Big Sis behaviors to an obnoxious extreme. She's the only human being (he describes her as a demon) that he fears. She does, however, sincerely care for her little brother and wants him to be happy. Which explains why she put him through Training from Hell as a child. Of course, she did seem to enjoy it...
 * Haruka Urashima in Love Hina probably counts.
 * Haruka Minami from Minami-ke definitely does.
 * Override in Transformers Cybertron fits the type even if she is a Giant Robot (and is only a girl in the dub). She even refers to one of the humans as "little sis".
 * Nobue in Ichigo Mashimaro.
 * Pokémon
 * Kasumi (Misty) has not one, not two, but three Cool Big Sisters, actual sisters at that. She doesn't exactly idolize them, though, getting along only with the eldest of the trio.
 * A more straight example is Lady of War Soledad (Saori) from Advanced Generation, who acts like a cool big sis to May and Drew.
 * Zoey/Nozomi tries to act like this for Dawn/Hikari, but ends up looking like something else.
 * Dawn's Togekiss, who acts in this role towards Piplup. This is mainly seen by Togekiss deflecting wayward Draco Meteor attempts back at Ash and Gible to keep them from falling on Piplup, and scolding Gible for repeatedly hitting Piplup.
 * Ash's Snivy fills the role for the Unova gang. She's always watching out for them but would rather stay out of pointless squabbles. She also developed a rivalry with Iris' Emolga because of a personality clash.
 * In Pokémon Special, Blue probably sees herself as Silver's older sister-type figure (though shippers say that Silver feels something a little bit more for her). She also occasionally looks out for Yellow.
 * Mitsumi from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure acts like this towards Hareta.
 * Nikora in Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch.
 * Kaya, in Mugen Densetsu Takamagahara: Dream Saga.
 * Gascogne fills the role in Vandread.
 * Raquel Casull in Scrapped Princess.
 * Michelle Cheung, the eldest of the three Paper Sisters from Read or Dream/R.O.D The TV.
 * The Outer Senshi in Sailor Moon: Haruka Tenoh (Sailor Uranus), Michiru Kaioh (Sailor Neptune), and Setsuna Meioh (Sailor Pluto).
 * Hevn in GetBackers.
 * Kuwabara Shizuru in Yu Yu Hakusho, actually Kuwabara Kazuma's older sister, who seems to consider it her job to keep the younger (acting?) girls safe and upbeat. Urameshi Atsuko kinda shifts between this and Hot Shounen Mom in the manga... she had Yuusuke when she was about fourteen (Yuusuke's same age), after all.
 * Azusa Miura from The Idolmaster.
 * Triela fills this role in Gunslinger Girl, despite not being related to any of the other protagonists.
 * Technically she's the cousin of Ryoma Echizen, but otherwise Nanako Meino fits the trope to a T in The Prince of Tennis. And there's also Fuji's EXTREMELY hot sister Yumiko.
 * Sakaki from Azumanga Daioh is pretty much this, being quite protective of Chiyo-chan and earning Chiyo's admiration in return. And then there's all her in-show fangirls.
 * Yoko Littner from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann becomes this after outgrowing her Tsundere stage early in the show, although she had hints of it from the beginning.
 * Bitter Virgin has Izumi Suwa, elder sister of Daisuke, who is considered a Cool Big Sis by Daisuke's childhood friend Yuzu Yamamoto. She also becomes such to female lead Hinako when she encourages her to fight for Daisuke's affections and becomes . She also earns some points for casually dismissing the flak she catches for returning to her conservative home town very pregnant with no father in sight.
 * Mai Tokiha from My-HiME who, atypically for this trope, is a Shonen series lead. She jokes about Shiho's Big Brother Attraction toward Yuuichi when they all first meet, stating that she (Mai, not Shiho) and Takumi are blood-related.
 * Yuki in Wandering Son is a Cool Big Sis, with a slightly modified definition of "Sis".
 * Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
 * Ginga Nakajima, Subaru's older sister.
 * Nanoha often seems to fill the role as well to the Forwards.
 * And Signum seem to be a Grumpy but Cool Big Sis to Nanoha, Fate and some minor characters like Vice or Alto, especially in StrikerS manga.
 * Gundam
 * Christina Sierra from Gundam 00 isn't the sister of either Feldt or the Gundam pilots, but treats them as if they were her siblings.
 * She possibly caught that from Catherine "Cathy" Bloom, the cool big sister from Gundam Wing..
 * And let's not forget Toniya, the Dark-Skinned Blond from After War Gundam X, who plays this role towards Tiffa and Garrod (and even ships them together).
 * Claudia LaSalle (or Claudia Grant, if we go by Robotech names) from Macross.
 * Bleach
 * Rangiku Matsumoto. She really takes on the Cool Big Sis role when she lives with Orihime, and later is this also to Momo and her own captain.
 * Yoruichi Shihoin. Teases the hell out of Ichigo, after abandoning cat form and appearing nude in front of him, revealing his prudishness. Also was the mentor of both a teenage Soifon and a teenage Byakuya. (Byakuya was even less thrilled than Ichigo by Yoruichi's antics making Soifon the only one of the trio who adored having her as a mentor and Cool Big Sis.)
 * Tsubaki Doumyouji and Shizuka Todou from Hana Yori Dango.
 * Yukari from Kimagure Orange Road. Madoka also was the Cool Big Sis for Yuusaku, Hikaru and the Kasuga twins.
 * Ashita no Nadja
 * Sylvie "Songbird" Arte is this to the lead girl.
 * Also, Julietta.
 * Curiously, Nadja herself used to be the Cool Big Sis of her Orphanage of Love.
 * Cathy Taymor and Pamela (also a Hot Shounen Mom) from Kaleido Star. Sarah Dupont is both this and the local Team Mom.
 * Natsumi Hayama from Kodomo no Omocha, after her Character Development.
 * In Overman King Gainer after she switches sides, Adette eventually becomes this role, well after she stops sleeping. The Siberian Railroad even still calls her Big Sis while she's attacking them.
 * Tamaki Kousaka from To Heart 2 is the Cool Big Sis to Takaaki.
 * Played for laughs with Li Syaoran's four older sisters in the first Cardcaptor Sakura movie. They were all very sweet and well-intentioned ... and complete Kawaiikos.
 * Both Dr. Yamaguchi and Mari Iizuka from Hajime no Ippo.
 * Axis Powers Hetalia
 * Hungary, before she "graduates" into Team Mom and marries Austria.
 * In Finland's notes, Belgium is hinted to be a Cool Big Sis too, but she has only had cameos so far. Confirmed in the published manga, so much that little!Romano gets a Precocious Crush on her.
 * Ukraine might qualify as this, but both her younger siblings Russia and Belarus are Yanderes and she's very much a Shrinking Violet. Russia does seem to consider her as one, considering his genuine affection for her and how fondly he remembers their childhood.
 * Vietnam tends to get this treatment in fanon, and shows shades of this in the 2011 Bloodbath when she takes charge of the girls' meeting.
 * Melissa Mao from Full Metal Panic!. She mentions the trope almost by name in The Second Raid when she confronts Sousuke about spacing out in the middle of a mission. Not to mention that Kurz calls her "Sis."
 * Rin Ataka from Gasaraki is arguably one of these too, she even goes so far as to sneak off of a military base despite being detained in order to check if Yushiro is ok.
 * Fasalina in Gun X Sword is amongst the antagonist's group, however she seems fond of newcomer Michael and if he's not being guided by The Claw, he goes to her and she teaches him. It doesn't excuse her position as a villain though, making her a rare villainous Cool Big Sis.
 * Mahou Sensei Negima has Negi's cousin Nekane filling this role whenever she's around. Kaede, Konoka, Akira, and Chizuru all fit the bill as well. On that note, most of the 3A girls can qualify at some point or another...
 * Asagi in Yotsubato, who definitely knows how to work people.
 * Tae Sekihara in Rurouni Kenshin, who counsels her friend Kaoru and takes Tsubame under her wing.
 * Kirino Chiba, Bamboo Blade's Kendo Team Captain, is more ditzy than flirty, but is clearly remarked to be the Cool Big Sis for the kendo team, which helps to keep them united. This may also make her something of a Team Mom.
 * Anehara Misa in Yoku Wakaru Gendai Mahou.
 * So far, Eva from Karneval is one to some extent, being reliable during a crisis, especially when Tsukumo-chan is concerned, although the guys are pretty scared of her.
 * Chikaru of Strawberry Panic.
 * A Certain Magical Index: Kamijou Touma has an Unwanted Harem, even if he doesn't realise it. The Cool Big Sis was Kaori Kanzaki,
 * Fukiyose Seiri is good at depicting this image. She's also hijacked the role of class representative on a number of occasions.
 * Though only one year older than the rest of the main cast of Hayate the Combat Butler, Maria seems to be the holder of this title.
 * While Yukiji is better known as an irresponsible, Bottle Fairy and older than most, she has shown to have this side to her, mostly to her younger sister.
 * Aki Izayoi (Akiza in the the dub) in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's fits this, generally keeping track of Rua and Ruka after she outgrows her Dark Magical Girl leanings in the beginning of the show.
 * Puella Magi Madoka Magica has Mami Tomoe. Also, like many other things on this show, deconstructed
 * In Kiki's Delivery Service, Kiki has a bout of insecurity and loneliness . One of her friends, a young painter named Ursula,
 * Madlax
 * Elenore is this to Margaret as well as being Mama Bear to her.
 * Vanessa is this likewise to both Margaret and Elenore.
 * In episode 16 of Nichijou, Yuuko befriends and becomes this.
 * Ayako of Slam Dunk personified this trope in the early chapters, being much more outgoing then the more Moe Haruko. Later on she becomes more a Team Mom.
 * Nathan fromTiger and Bunny is built on this trope, right down to his name (or, as it's pronounced in Japanese, Nee-San). The fact that he's male does not diminish it in the least.
 * Michiko from Michiko to Hatchin eventually becomes one to Hatchin.
 * In Aria, Athena flip-flops between being a Cool Big Sis figure and The Load, as far as the apprentice Undines are concerned. Akari tends to think of her as a Cool Big Sis, while Alice tends to think of her as a load. Considering the lack of male characters in the story, her status as a possible romantic partner is left unresolved.

Comic Books

 * The Sandman includes Death, who is the sweetest, gentlest girl anyone could ever meet. She loves everyone, and everyone, audience included, loves her. She is by far the sanest of the Endless, and is able to provide a pragmatic perspective to her younger brother, the anguished poet Dream. Most importantly, she is extremely badass when it is called for, and is the only one of the Endless who "is bound by no rules." The ironic contrast between the kind and beautiful Death and the typical Grim Reaper archetype is deliberate and effective.
 * Y: The Last Man: Yorick always thought of his sister Hero this way...
 * Mayday Parker is well on her way to be this to her baby brother Benjamin.

Films -- Animation

 * Lin (Rin) in Spirited Away is not actually Chihiro's sister but, after a rocky start, she takes her under her wing.
 * Margo in Despicable Me is this to the two younger girls, Edith and Agnes, though Word of God has stated that the three are not biologically related.
 * Tigress in Kung Fu Panda 2 to Po, if you want to disregard the hints that she may be falling in love with him.

Films -- Live-Action

 * Bon Cop, Bad Cop had a Cool Younger Sis for the strait-laced, by-the-book Ontario cop. Naturally, the chain-smoking, rulebreaking, yet oddly charismatic Quebec cop was interested.
 * In the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, Eowyn very much took on this role for Merry.
 * Sweet Pea from Sucker Punch, who looks out for and protects her sister Rocket, as well as the rest of the group. "I'm only doing this because you'd all get killed without me."

Literature

 * Jacyl acts as one to The Hero, Lyra, in Black Dogs.
 * The In Death series. Peabody thinks of Dallas this way, while Dallas is impressed by Mira's grace, style and poise, to the point of her mental descriptions reaching near girl-crush levels.
 * In Harry Potter, Tonks is this to Hermione and Ginny.
 * Nellie from The 39 Clues.
 * A famous socialite to whom she gives the snarky pseudonym "Girdle Fitz-Snugglie" befriends and becomes this to the titular character of Robert A. Heinlein's young-adult novel Podkayne of Mars.

Live-Action TV

 * In the reimagined Battlestar Galactica, Kara Thrace is said to have filled this role for Sharon Valerii.
 * In the Korean Series Boys Before Flowers, Joon Hee is the white Ferrari-driving older sister of Jun Pyo.
 * On Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy originally filled this role for Dawn. However, after dying, coming back and basically abandoning her, it stopped applying for a bit. It was repaired in Season 7, only to be destroyed again and still be in pretty bad shape over a year later in Season 8.
 * On Chuck, Ellie is the ultimate Cool Big Sis. She practically raised her younger brother Chuck by herself after their parents left their lives, is willing to lend an understanding ear to his problems, and is just generally an awesome person.
 * Firefly has urbane, sophisticated Inara frequently playing the more experienced Cool Big Sis to Kaylee - complete with hair-brushing sessions and advice on boys.
 * Eun Bi from the Korean Drama Flower Boy Ramyun Shop is this to Ba Wool, who admires her for being an ex-gang leader and for being the daughter of somebody he respects as well.
 * Referenced almost by name in C-drama The Holy Pearl between Mu Lian and Yu Die.
 * In Kamen Rider Double, to Philip.
 * In Pasta, the older sister of Kim Sam is awesome!
 * Mako's this in Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, much to Ryuunosuke's dismay. Additionally, Kotoha's older sister (who was meant to be Shinken Yellow before getting sick).
 * This dynamic is repeated in Power Rangers Samurai, with Mia (Pink Ranger), and Emily's sister, Serena (original Yellow Ranger).
 * In flashbacks on The West Wing, a college age Jed Bartlett meets a young Mrs. Landingham, who says he needs a "big sister" to help guide him. She will later become his loyal but Sassy Secretary when he becomes President of the United States.
 * Annie Walker is a cool big sis for her non-spy sister in Covert Affairs. Unfortunately it is long before she tells what she does for a living so some family vs work conflicts look like selfishness on Annie's part even though lives can depend on Annie doing her job well.

Video Games

 * A female Player Character can be this to Mission Vao in Knights of the Old Republic.
 * Nathyrra plays this role to a female Player Character in Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark.
 * A particularly odd example of this trope can be found in the game Persona 2: Innocent Sin, with the character Maya Amano. It's odd because the four younger kids she played with And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
 * Jennifer, sidekick of Captain Gordon, Defender of Earth!, in Disgaea.
 * Excellen Browning of Super Robot Wars is perpetually cheerful, friends with everybody (especially Lamia Loveless and Einst Alfimi) and an unabashed Ms. Fanservice. In fact, Excellen plays on this trope by having Lamia address her as "Ex-oneesama" when they first meet.
 * Likewise, the Tall, Dark and Bishoujo Ouka Nagisa of The School Children is the eldest and addressed by Arado Balanga, Seolla Schweizer and Latooni Subota as their "sister".
 * Nanami from Suikoden II.
 * Bleu/Deis from the Breath of Fire series is somewhat of a Cool Big Sis to the party, most notably in 3 and 4. She guides and gives hints to Ryu and his party, and is definitely the most... erm... endowed woman in the party. Interestingly enough, Ryu does express romantic interest in her (pretty much the most you'll ever see him express towards anyone, considering he's a Silent Protagonist) in 3, sort of culminating in a little kiddy crush. Probably has to do with how he saw her full front, completely naked and up close.
 * Teased with Grandia III. Everything you've seen indicates Miranda is a Cool Big Sis, until it's revealed she's a Hot Shounen Mom instead. Her personality, however, fits this trope.
 * In Soul Calibur V, Ivy is viewed this way by the younger fighters, or even as a surrogate mother to some.
 * Letty Whiterock of Perfect Cherry Blossom is one of these for the ditzy ice fairy Cirno.
 * And after the latest game, fanworks seem to also make out Byakuren Hijiri to be half this trope and half The Messiah in equal helpings—with the sis-dom particularly pointed towards Shou Toramaru and Nue Houjuu
 * Tamara from Custom Robo Arena.
 * Ellone from Final Fantasy VIII served this purpose for the rest of the orphans in the backstory.
 * Inferno from Sanitarium.
 * Raine Sage from Tales of Symphonia.
 * Grune from Tales of Legendia.
 * To a slight degree, Lyn from Fire Emblem.
 * Also Syrene.
 * And Mahnya!
 * Rosalyn from Okage: Shadow King is this to Ari, his little sister Annie, and possibly Linda. If you're not one of these people, chances are if you're part of the rest of the group, she's going to be short-tempered with you.
 * Lightning from Final Fantasy XIII, most evident toward Hope.
 * In Mass Effect a female Shepard can be this to Tali to the point where in the second game she seems to have something of a crush on the Commander. She's also something like this to Garrus during the first game. Shepard's role as the team's Living Emotional Crutch does seem to put him/her in this position a lot.
 * Isabela acts like this towards Merrill and Bethany in Dragon Age II, especially the former. Whenever Fenris / Anders would be ragging on Merrill for her use of Blood Magic, Isabela just tries to comfort her and asks if it's what she really wants. Party banter between them involves offering to teach Merrill about body-shots and trying to get Bethany a night at the local brothel. If the PC romances Merrill, Isabela gives him / her the If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her... speech, threatening a male PC with castration.
 * In Nie R, Kaine plays this role to Emil, in that she can relate to the idea of having a part of their body that makes them hated (Emil has Evil Eyes while Kaine is a Hermaphrodite possessed by a Shade) and tells him to never be ashamed of himself for what he is.
 * Esperia seems to have this role among the spirits in Eien no Aselia. Halion really tries, but she's a bit too slow and strange to pull it off.
 * In the Street Fighter 'verse:
 * The arcade version of Super Street Fighter IV portrays Chun-Li in this light towards Yun and Yang Lee. It should be noted that given the connections between Gen, Lee, Chun-Li's father, Chun-Li, and the Lee Bros. and the likening of a martial arts instructor/master to that of a father figure, Chun-Li is more or less their actual martial arts "big sister".
 * Cammy can also be seen as this towards her fellow Dolls. Particularly, SSFIV has Cammy attempting to go all Sister Cub on newcomer Juri for savagely attacking and hospitalizing them, not to mention looking after a recovering Juni in her ending.
 * Leslie from Arc Rise Fantasia.
 * In Jade Empire, this is how Dawn Star sees the female Player Character.

Visual Novels

 * Charlotte is a cool big sis for both Angie and Mary in Shikkoku no Sharnoth. However, the short voice over at the beginning of every chapter reveals that when they were children, Mary actually played this role for Charlotte instead.
 * Physically older? Check. More mature than everyone else, protagonist included? Check. An actual leader for The Squad? Check. Huge tracts of land? Check. Meet Forte Stollen from Galaxy Angel.

Web Comics

 * Dora of Questionable Content had this sort of relationship with Faye and Marten, until she hooked up with the latter.
 * Since Dora is a few years older than either, Faye made a point of humming "Mrs. Robinson" after the hook-up.
 * During the "Phoenix Rising" arc of Sluggy Freelance, Oasis takes on this role to Katie. Since Oasis is a semi-psychotic assassin/vigilante with an All Crimes Are Equal attitude, this really freaks out Katie's mom.
 * Murf's sister Kelly in Khaos Komix.
 * Rhea of Slightly Damned is this way to both Buwaro and Kieri.
 * Misfile: Once she lightens up after, "Kamikaze" Kate becomes one of these, insisting on making Ash her "little sister".
 * Ow, My Sanity literally introduces this character as the Cool Big Sis.
 * Amethyst Lashiec from Heartcore is like this, both to her actual younger sister Sukina, and to her sidekick Lutz.
 * Nique to Criminy in Sinfest, though its more along the lines of Nique considering him to be like a little brother. She can be very protective of him, something Fuchsia found out early in her romance arc.
 * El Goonish Shive has Diane, the Queen Bee of Moperville South who is somewhere between this and Onee-Sama (EGS had thick anime roots before these girls) for Rhoda—unusual in that they are in the same class, but Diane is about a head taller and more mature, so she comes across as senior and acts very protectively toward "her puppy" who is tiny and feels even smaller.

Web Original

 * Ilivais X has Mille, who's a more Hot-Blooded variant of this. Unfortunately, she has the impression that one-night stands are the epitome of romance, and to that end her reputation of sleeping around heavily is known more than being kind and compassionate. Her only real friends are people who she ended up having to see and interact often with regardless of what she did with them, and she eventually winds up in a relationship with the resident broken Token Mini-Moe protagonist instead of the usual archetypes present.
 * Sarah in Erikas New Perfume, after certain events.

Western Animation
""She loves me. She's like the big sister I never had. Only, y'know, short.""
 * Frankie is this to almost everyone in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.
 * Jerrica Benton of Jem plays this role for the kids at her orphanage.
 * Kim Possible, actually the eponymous main character of her show.
 * Also, when her nemesis Shego was turned good and became her friend, Kim described her "like a big sister".
 * Flash from Justice League Unlimited considers Hawkgirl as one of these. In his words:


 * Irma and Cornelia in WITCH.
 * X-Men: Evolution
 * This rendition of Jean Grey, also a Type B Tsundere.
 * Tabitha Smith, aka Boom-Boom, really fits the bill after her Character Development.
 * Rogue to Nightcrawler, possibly; they never actually stated which of the two is older, though it seems to be Rogue.
 * Daisy Dingo from Blinky Bill.
 * Jazmine "Jazz" Fenton in Danny Phantom.
 * Jen on 6teen has a mean older sister everyone loves that she's jealous of.
 * Yumi Ishiyama from Code Lyoko. Johnny sure thinks that Hiroki has a Cool Big Sis.
 * Subverted with Blackfire in the Teen Titans animated series. The other Titans think she's here to hang out with her little sis and maybe even join the team, but she's actually there Even Starfire was excited to see her at first and didn't expect such treachery. This moment marked a Moral Event Horizon for Blackfire as Starfire wasn't at all happy to see her again.
 * Suzie Chan from The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan. Henry is her Spear Counterpart.
 * Avatar: The Last Airbender: To some extent, Mai to Azula and Ty Lee. She's a year older than them and fits the aloof, snarky profile. Also, Katara to Toph, when they're not fighting or annoying each other.
 * Korra from The Legend of Korra is adored by all of Tenzin's children, and Ikki and Meelo often imitate her to their father's dismay (though it's made all the more amusing since Korra is the reincarnation of their grandfather).
 * Twilight Sparkle to Spike in My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic. At times, she comes off as a mother more than a sister though. Rainbow Dash sees her old friend, Gilda the Griffon as one. To her credit, Gilda does seem to care about her. The problem is that she doesn't care for anyone else.
 * Princess Celestia walks the line between this, Parental Substitute and Onee-Sama, quite possibly for her entire nation, but at least for her "most faithful student" Twilight Sparkle. The rest of the Mane Six and  are in-between the two.
 * Literal big sisters Applejack towards Applebloom, and (eventually) Rarity towards Sweetie Belle.
 * Berry Punch, Cloud Kicker, Golden Harvest, and Amethyst Star are this to Piña Colada, Alula, Noi, and Dinky Hooves, respectively.
 * Pinkie Pie sometimes takes this role, trying to cheer up Applebloom or chaperoning foals on Nightmare Night.
 * And with the recent arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Cake's twin foals, Pinkie is now filling this role in a quite literal sense given that the Cakes regard her as something of a foster daughter.
 * The couple whose wedding the Mane Six attend in the Season 2 finale, appropriately enough, both played this role for Twilight Sparkle when she was a foal: Shining Armor is her ", " while Princess Cadance was her foalsitter (and apparently, "the best foalsitter in the history of foalsitters").
 * Subverted by Rainbow Dash. While the other members of the Mane Six are all pretty good with kids and fit this Trope nicely, Word of God says she probably wouldn't make the best big sister.
 * She does still get occasional moments of this with other team mates however, especially to Fluttershy. When Gilda revealed her true colors and turned on Pinkie, she stood up for her (and all her other friends) as well.
 * Olga Pataki, the 20 year old sister of Helga Pataki on Hey Arnold!. Not only does she get top grades, is a Valedictiorian, humanitarian and has her own trophy room, but she's gorgeous and tends to steal the lime light at any given second. Everyone adores her... except her sister. Their parents even love her more than Helga.
 * Not to mention that, despite having a good heart, poor Olga has terrible problems of her own. The fact that the Pataki parents dote on her so much has caused Olga to become a Stepford Smiler Shrinking Violet who collapses in tears at the slightest evidence that something may go wrong; As a result, while she plays this role to Lila and others who are outside the family, she and Helga are pretty distant—and sometimes Helga comes off as more mentally strong than Olga does.
 * Arcee acts as this to Jack in Transformers Prime (though the occasional Relationship Writing Fumble can make their relationship seem a bit deeper than intended).
 * Miss Martian becomes Beast Boy's adopted sister in season two of Young Justice.
 * Bliss from The Powerpuff Girls the Power of Four is this to the three heroines. An earlier experiment by Professor Utonium using "Chemical W" (as opposed to the Chemical X used to create Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup) Bliss has the attitude and personality of a young, teenage version of her "siblings". While fans' reaction to her is very mixed, she clearly seems to be regarded as one by them.