Adrenaline Makeover: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:katara_makeover_6135.jpg|link=Avatar: The Last Airbender
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The Adrenaline Makeover candidate is almost always or was [[Beautiful All Along]]. But at the beginning of the story, our heroine is mousy, shy, wearing the bad glasses, the frumpy clothes, etc.
Sometimes she's secretly, unknowingly, the [[Hot Librarian]], or a case of [[She Is All Grown Up|late blooming gorgeous]]. Sometimes they're gorgeous but shy, or otherwise mild-mannered because they have to work twice as hard to be [[You Go, Girl!|thought of as half as good in a male-dominated field]]; and being sexy equals not being taken seriously; and [[No Guy Wants an Amazon|being aggressive is considered a negative trait for a female]] -- at least, in this part of the story. Less frequently, she's a teenager going through this, which results in [[I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me]] at some point during the transformation.
The usual progression of the trope has the character starting out blinded to the world by their academic pursuits. She's in trouble that she needs assistance to get out of, resulting in a hero showing up and helping her through an epic adventure. The adventure distracts her from maintaining her frumpiness; the hero is there to rescue her, to help her de-frump, and to fall in love with her, making her realize as she returns his affections that if she'd just shaken out the hair and dumped the glasses before, she might have gotten a hot hero guy that much sooner.
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* After {{spoiler|she saves Athrun's life and ends up having to defect from ZAFT as a consequence}}, [[Bridge Bunnies|Meyrin]] [[Naive Everygirl|Hawke]] from ''[[Gundam Seed Destiny]]'' switches from a rather modest cadet uniform and [[Girlish Pigtails]] to a tighter jacket/pants combination and [[Expository Hairstyle Change|wearing her long hair loose]].
* Youko Nakajima from ''[[The Twelve Kingdoms]]'' is a more subdued version. She starts shy and mousy [[Joshikousei|in her dark grey school uniform]], becomes a [[Dark-Skinned Redhead]] [[Action Girl]] in Chinese clothing after being [[Trapped in Another World]], later is seen in regal clothing when crowned as the Queen of the Kei Kingdom (but switching to her traveler outfits whenever she leaves the palace).
* In ''[[
** Inverted with Maria Grace Fleed. When we meet her, she wears skin-tight bodysuits; when she properly joins the cast, she keeps them as fighting clothes and begins wearing dresses and flowing skirts as civilian outfits.
* Subverted in ''[[Tantei Gakuen Q]]''. {{spoiler|Kuniko Tooya}} drastically changed her looks between a ''very'' traumatic incident and her arrival to Class A, but takes her ''much'' more than that to fully blossom. It doesn't hurt that in the process we discover she'd been a case of [[Beware the Nice Ones]] from the start...
* ''[[Blade of the Immortal]]'' has Rin Asano, who starts out so weak that she hired [[Badass|Manji]] in order to protect her life while she tracks down the man who ordered the [[You Killed My Father|murder of her father]] and rape of her mother. Cut to about 20 volumes later, when Manji has vanished without a trace. Rin starts kicking ass and taking names ''all the way into Edo Castle'' and doesn't stop until she's in Manji's cell. When he finally sees her again, he actually ''[[She Is All Grown Up|doesn't recognize her right away.]]''
* Shirin Bakhtiar from ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]''. After being an assertive and outspoken adviser to princess Marina Ismail in the first season, while wearing presumably typical flowing court dresses, she switches to baggy pants and tight T-shirts when she becomes a rebel against [[The Federation]] in the second season.
* ''[[Monster (
* {{spoiler|Homura Akemi}} from ''[[
* In a male example from ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'', Simon goes from adult Simon to a taller Kamina look-alike when {{spoiler|he's going to go save Nia from the Anti-Spirals.}}
* A rare villainous example happens in ''[[Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
* ''[[
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* In ''[[The Incredibles]]'', there's no [[Love Interest]] involved, but it's fighting for her life and her family that causes [[I Just Want to Be Normal|Reluctant Hero]] Violet Parr to come out of her shell, learn a [[Power-Up|new power]], and quit hiding behind her hair. In the same movie, getting back in the hero game inspires her bored father Bob to slim down (and bulk up) and have more fun with his family.
** Incidentally, the guy at school Violet was pining after only notices her post-adventure. Slightly understandable, since before she only had the confidence to lurk behind the scenery staring at him.
* Arguably, ''[[
* A male version of this happens in ''[[The Thief and
* Hiccup in ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (
* Jane Porter's clothes and hair change in ''[[Tarzan (Disney film)|Tarzan]]'' over the course of the film, it starts with her wearing her hair in a bun and in a large yellow dress, when she brings Tarzan back her hair is loose, and she starts wearing a shirt and skirt and occasionally goes barefoot, when she falls in love she's wearing loose fitting clothing, and by the end of the film she's wearing animal skin like Tarzan.
== Films -- Live-Action ==
* Chris in ''[[Adventures in Babysitting]]'' is played from a slightly different angle. She finds out during a night of running from gangbangers and criminals that her boyfriend is cheating on her because she won't put out. She gets everybody safely home, parents none the wiser, and gets a nicer, new, upgraded boyfriend when all is said and done -- all ''without'' changing her look. Then again, she doesn't really ''need'' to change her look -- a running gag/subplot of the film is the [[Identical Stranger]] who is the current Playmate of the Month, for whom she is repeatedly mistaken.
* ''[[Fantastic Four (
* The remake of ''[[The Hills Have Eyes]]'', when the nerdy pacifist protagonist shed a few layers of clothing, [[Took a Level In Badass|broke out the weaponry]], and stomped off to avenge his family and cause some serious mutant pain.
* The ''[[
** [[Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
* ''[[The Mummy
* ''[[Romancing the Stone]]'': Joan Wilder is a mousy, reclusive romance novelist. But when she gets in over her head in Colombia, Jack T. Colton is there to help her out -- for a price. Along the way, after he chops the heels off her shoes and tosses her suitcase full of sensible business suits into the jungle, they ride a mudslide, swing on vines, and do the sort of things she writes about in her novels. By the midpoint of the movie, her hair is down and she's dip-dancing in Jack's arms. By the end of the movie, she's no longer mousy or reclusive. By The Sequel, Joan's backslid a little and [[Mission Pack Sequel|goes through the transformation a second time]].
* ''[[The Saint]]'': Emma is a shy, nervous nuclear physicist who is brilliant enough to have invented Cold Fusion. She meets Simon in one of his aliases, and it's [[Love At First Sight]]. Once she gets over being astonished that a man like him would notice her, she's so worked up she has to take her heart medication before they go to bed. But he betrays her. Incensed, Emma throws off the meek mouse persona and tracks him down. Along the way, they're pursued by the Russian Mafia, and by the end of the movie, she can do a 100 yard dash, and doesn't need her pills anymore.
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* ''[[The Terminator]]'': Sarah Connor is a simple young woman who has a waitress job at a family restaurant. By her own admission, she can't even balance her own checkbook. She's meek, and mild-mannered, but smart enough to know bad things are happening when people with her name start dying. Then Kyle shows up. Once she's done being scared to death of him, they fall in love, and by the time the movie ends, she's got the first few experience points toward [[Took a Level In Badass|taking her level in badass]]. By the time of The Sequel she's a full-fledged [[Mama Bear]] you don't want to mess with.
* Helen Tasker in ''[[True Lies]]''. The meek housewife ditches the glasses, the hairdo, and the frumpy clothes that concealed her incredible physique. By the final scene, she and hubby are apparently [[Battle Couple]].
* Arguably, Tristan in ''[[Stardust (
* ''[[Tank Girl]]'' has a [[Les Yay]] example. Jet Girl is meek and mousy, and lets the Water and Power mook push her around until she makes friends with Tank Girl. By the end of the movie, Jet has quit stuttering, is telling off people on the radio, and cowing the Reavers when they cross her.
* Lucy in ''[[The Frighteners]]'' starts out as a beleaguered widow, a little frumpy, and a doctor who's not taken seriously by the patients of the male doctor she occasionally replaces. After the events of the movie, she ends up with Frank, the hero, in more ways than one.
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* Somewhat of an inversion with Annie from ''[[The Invisible]]''. She starts out brutal, violent, and dressed in guys' clothes, no to mention the leader of the school bullies. As she realizes the consequences of her violent life, her bad choices, and the fact that Nick was more like her than she gave him credit for, she feminizes -- beginning to wear her hair down, and her clothing less gender neutral.
* David/Bud in ''[[Pleasantville]]'' starts the film as a shy, downtrodden loner who gets [[Trapped in TV Land|beamed into his favorite wholesome 50s Sitcom]]. Halfway into the story, he's forced to help the town firemen put out a fire (all they did previously was rescue cats from trees), subsequently gets a date [[All Guys Want Cheerleaders|with a cheerleader]], and rescues his mother from a gang of thugs. From that point on, he becomes a strong, competent leader whose insights and bravery eventually bring color and life to the previously sterile black-and-white world he's (temporarily) living in.
* ''[[
* Wesley in ''[[Wanted]]'' is a quiet nebbish who hates his life and apologizes for ''everything'', even things that aren't his fault out of reflex. He knows his best friend is sleeping with his girlfriend, and just takes it. The morning after he meets Fox about 25 minutes into the film, he goes back to the life he hates. His [[Pointy-Haired Boss|boss Janice]] gives him crap, and he realizes he could take Fox up on her offer. He walks out showing the first inkling of being a [[Badass]], and the transformation continues into the movie.
* Another male example, Morgan Sullivan of the film adaptation of Philip K. Dick's ''[[Cypher]]'' begins as an awkward and insecure mid-level suit who takes a job in industrial espionage. In the process of inventing and adopting personality and character quirks for his cover, confidence noticeably grows in his posture and speech patterns, he begins smoking and knocking back scotch casually, then loses the glasses and tie while dressing and hairstyling more fashionably.
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== Literature ==
* Averted with ''Stationery Voyagers''. Since Neone is a highlighter marker; with her cap on, it's impossible to tell if she gets more or less sexy underneath as a Voyager than as a [[Hooker
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== Western Animation ==
* ''[[
** Aang and Sokka, too. [http://piandao.org/screencaps/ep9/ep9-227.png First] [http://piandao.org/screencaps/ep9/ep9-236.png season], and [http://piandao.org/screencaps/ep50/ep50-928.png third] [http://iroh.org/screencaps/ep58/ep58-583.png season.]
* One episode of [[Jem]] had Kimber ask Synergy to turn her into someone "hard and mean". Synergy gives her a (naturally) holographic "hard and mean" look, but then proceeds to try to convince Kimber to reconsider, which she does.
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