Opposite Gender Protagonists



One of the best ways to create an emotionally resonant relationship is having The Heroes of the story be opposite genders, and focusing on their interactions. In other words, the main characters are a boy and a girl. The two go on adventures, help each other out, experience The Power of Friendship, and sometimes fall in love. What's almost guaranteed is that the two stick together through the story. There may be a Second Act Breakup, but you can rest assured that they'll eventually get back together.

This is a great way to establish and forge a relationship between two characters. No one is perfect, but someone else can remedy our flaws, and make our best parts shine. Having Opposite Gender Heroes is a great way to establish a strong friendship, potentially developing into a romantic pairing. A couple that's been through a lot together, at the centre of the adventure, inevitably forges a stronger relationship.

This is useful for getting audiences invested within a work. Male demographics can sympathise with the male character, and female audiences see themselves in the other hero. When you appeal to both genders, expect to see your Ratings go up.

In order for something to quality:
 * 1) The male and female must be protagonists. If the male is the protagonist, then the female cannot be a mentor, parent, or any other character who doesn't play a central role. Check if the characters' ages at the same. If they are, then it almost always fits, if it doesn't, then there's a chance it may not fit, so proceed with caution.
 * 2) There should be two characters clearly identifiable as the main characters. A Ragtag Band of Misfits does not count. These two characters should play a huge role in some sort of conflict; over half of the work will be gone if they don't exist.
 * 3) There should be some sort of interaction between the two characters. Having two stories each where the male and female are the hero of their own tale does not count.

Battle Couple is related, where there is an explicit romance between the leads. A Battle Couple could also have the couple be of the same sex (Ho Yay!), but Opposite Gender Heroes cannot. Furthermore, a Battle Couple must see battle, whereas people falling under Opposite Gender Heroes does not. A Slice of Life story does not work with a Battle Couple, but is made more powerful using Opposite Gender Heroes.

Contrast Heterosexual Life Partners. If the trope is used, then expect some variation on Boy Meets Girl.

Anime and Manga

 * Happens quite often in Studio Ghibli productions, where the dynamic is more interesting due to Ghibli's frequent usage of a Plucky Girl:
 * Kiki and Tombo in Kiki's Delivery Service, who initially start out disliking each other, but once Kiki saw who Tombo really was, she starts to open up to him. Tombo has a passion for aviation, which Kiki fulfils because her witch powers enable her to fly, and the ending shot shows them flying together; Tombo on the plane he built, and Kiki on her broomstick. An interesting thing is that the two protagonists, despite having great chemistry, never engage in romance and the work remains No Hugging, No Kissing.
 * Sheeta and Pazu from Laputa: Castle in the Sky, who is almost the textbook example of this trope. The two go on adventures, face many difficulties, and is even separated at one point. Their interactions are interesting, as they are pre-teen children racing against the military and finding a Castle in the Sky, and thus them being the protagonists strength their relationship.
 * Howl and Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle (anime), also occurring in the novel of the same name. Here the trope is used as a vessel for a romance, as the two leads meet and slowly fall in love. It gives Howl something to protect, and Sophie something to support her status as a newly cursed ninety year old woman. Howl builds a garden for Sophie, and the two work together to face the war going on around them.
 * Arrietty and Sho in The Borrower Arrietty. The Huge Guy, Tiny Girl dynamic between them makes the relationship more interesting, as well as the fact that Arrietty, being a four inch tall Borrower, isn't allowed to visit the boy as human beings are perceived as dangerous. The two are dependent on each other: Sho needs someone to support him with his heart condition; and Arrietty is powerless due to her small size, and needs help from a human whenever she wants to do something adventurous. Thus, placing them at the center of the film strengthens their relationship, and gives audiences a feeling of sorrow when they inevitably have to part.
 * Umi and Shun in From Up on Poppy Hill.
 * Seiji and Shizuku in Whisper of the Heart, where the trope is developed into a romance. The two start out bickering, with Shizuku disliking Seiji, as he mocked her lyrics for the Real Song Theme Tune "Country Roads". Later, while singing at night, they get over their differences and start forging a relationship. Shizuku looks up to Seiji, a violin maker, and believes that herself is lacking in talent, and is lost for what to do in life. She eventually picks up writing, and writes the titular Whisper of the Heart story. This relationship gives audiences a reason to care when Seiji eventually departs to Italy, as well as allows us to understand the significance when Seiji returns.
 * Ashitaka and San in Princess Mononoke.
 * Ponyo and Sousuke in Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.
 * Haku and Chihiro in Spirited Away. Haku helps Chihiro navigate through the perils of the spirit world, and helps her get a job, find her parents, and avoid being turned into a pig. In return, Chihiro helps Haku remember his true name, and to help him realise that he should not be Yubaba's apprentice. A romance between the two ensures, resulting in a Free Fall Romance when Chihiro informs Haku what his true name is as the two start Holding Hands. All of this makes the film more emotional when the two inevitably have to say goodbye.
 * The Baron and Haru in The Cat Returns. Them being two completely different species does not stop a bond forging between them. Haru even admits that she has a little crush on the Baron.
 * Mary and Peter in Mary and the Witch's Flower. Considering that the production studio Studio Ponoc descended from Ghibli, there's no surprises here. The trope is used to establish and strength the relationship between the two lead characters, and later give Mary a reason to return back to the Wizarding School.
 * Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms stars Maquia and Erial. This is an interesting case, due to their age difference. It's clear that Maquia is the protagonist, however Erial, being the orphaned child, plays a huge role in the film, as the film focuses on his growing up and interactions with his ageless mother Maquia. Instead of the heroes facing an external conflict, the first part of the film sees the heros facing an internal conflict between themselves, before introducing an external source of conflict with a war.

Film

 * Buttercup and Westley in The Princess Bride (film). The two leads instantly fall in love within the first three minutes, and Westley's departure makes Buttercup worry. When Buttercup is put into an Arranged Marriage and gets kidnapped, the conflict starts. Eventually, the two meet up again, and they help each other through their adventures, bringing them closer together.
 * Tristan and Yvaine in Stardust (film), where the trope is again used as a vessel for romance.
 * Hiccup and Astrid in How to Train Your Dragon (animation). Hiccup initially has a crush on Astrid, but his clumsy nature contrasts with Astrid's skills as a fierce warrior. This initially leads to a gap between the two leads, although the gap grows smaller and smaller as Hiccup finds and tames the Night Fury Toothless. Astrid starts to see Hiccup's ways with dragons, and over the course of the trilogy they grow closer. Eventually, this leads up to their marriage at the end of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
 * Marlin and Dory in Pixar's Finding Nemo

Literature

 * Sophie and Howl from Howl's Moving Castle (novel)
 * The unnamed boy and Arrietty in The Borrowers.
 * Morrigan and her best friend Hawthorne in the Nevermoor series.