Bokukko: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"Hmm. Your [[Tomboy|obstinate personality]] makes you even [[Moe|cuter]]!"''|'''Sapphire''', ''[[Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice]]''}}

A '''Bokukko''' is a female character who uses male pronouns. This term arises from the [[Japanese Pronouns|Japanese Pronoun]] ''boku'', primarily used by boys and young men, and "ko", meaning "girl".<ref>Technically it means "child", but it's generally used for feminine names and titles</ref>. Extreme tomboys may prefer the pronoun ''ore'', normally almost exclusively used by "tough guys";<ref>Yes, that includes [[Internet Tough Guy|Internet Tough Guys]]s</ref>; the term "ore-onna" (''ore''-woman) is mostly interchangeable with "bokukko". Also called "bokko".

Like many of the "-kko" terms, this has its place in female archetypes in [[Anime]] or Japanese [[Video Games]]. Most, but not all, bokukko are [[Tomboy|tomboystomboy]]s, and not all tomboys are bokukko, as the term revolves solely around the use of the pronoun "boku".

Whenever a Bokukko that primarily uses the male pronoun permanently switches to primarily using the female pronoun, it's a plot point. When the show is dubbed, however, this will invariably lead to a [[Dub -Induced Plot Hole]] due to the lack of gender-specific first person pronouns.

Also, a Bokukko character will usually be addressed with the [[Japanese Honorifics|"-kun" honorific]]. Although none of this has to be reflected in her appearance, the bokukko is usually either flat-chested or extremely well-endowed. A [[Dark-Skinned Redhead]] is likely to be a bokukko, but it's not guaranteed.

See also [[Cute Bruiser]], [[Shorttank]]. Characters who are tomboyish but don't use male pronouns should not be placed here, but instead under their respective types of [[Tomboy|Tomboys]]s. [[I Thought It Meant|It can be very unfortunate to accidentally mix up this word with another one.]]

* Miyuki Chitose from ''[[The Prince of Tennis]]''. Tezuka even [[Dropped a Bridget On Him|mistook her for a guy]] until she dropped her [[Nice Hat]] and her [[Girlish Pigtails]] were revealed.

* In ''[[Haruhi Suzumiya]]'''s 9th novel, Sasaki is introduced in a flashback. The reader isn't told her gender until later in the flashback, relying on her speech patterns (she talks a lot like Koizumi) and the use of masculine pronouns. The reader, confused by Haruhi's behavior around this "very close friend" of Kyon's, suddenly understands.

* Buttercup in [[Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z|the Japanese adaptation]] of ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' (Kaoru).

* Kagura from ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]''. Sakaki from the same show is perceived as a Bokukko by her classmates, but actually [[Huge Schoolgirl|has very girlish interests]] -- such—such as petting cats and collecting stuffed animals.

** The other tomboys in the series, on the other hand, don't use male pronouns. Tatsuki and Karin use ''atashi'', while Hiyori uses ''uchi'' - both very feminine personal pronouns.

* Also by [[Rumiko Takahashi]], Akane Tendo from ''[[Ranma ½|Ranma One Half]]'' is an interesting case since it's primarily ''others'' who insist on referring to her with male pronouns. Probably because she acts like a tomboy and is the only one in the family that practices martial arts other than her father, and frequently hits anyone she gets angry at. She shows girlish behavior when talking to her pet pig P-Chan/Ryoga, puts on dresses more often than not, attempts ([[Lethal Chef|and fails]]) to act more feminine, and was criticized by Kasumi as a little girl for getting into fights so much that she "sometimes thinks [she has] a little brother". Ranma's usual insults are "You're sooo un-cute!", "Who would wanna marry a tomboy like you, anyway?", and "Flat-chested, pig-loving, short-legged, tomboy...". Incidentally, these insults are what brings back her memory when Shampoo erases them.

** Ukyo Kuonji seems to be the real [[Bokukko]], since Ukyo uses the word ''ore'' to refer to herself. She's also the most boyish of the fiancées (i.e., she goes to school wearing the boys uniform, whereas Akane uses the girls one), but according to Ranma she's still the "cute one" among them.

** Both Hanyuu and Rika use boku. This is despite the fact that neither fits the normal pattern for a [[Bokukko]], though in Rika's case, it's probably a habit acquired from Hanyuu. She also uses "watashi" whenever {{spoiler|she's not [[Obfuscating Stupidity]].}}

*** It's stated that Rika used to be a troublemaker and quite similar to the tomboyish Satoko in early worlds, so she counts a bit.

* Salor Maiden Anabel/Tower Tycoon Rera in ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]''. She also used "boku" to refer to herself in Japanese, and thanks to her short hair and androgynous clothing she was [[Sweet Polly Oliver|mistaken as a waifish boy]] in the beginning, even [[Dropped a Bridget On Him|succesfully fooling]] [[Lovable Sex Maniac|Brock]].

* Akira Sakou from ''[[Girls Saurus]]'' actually has some very complicated gender identity issues, and dreams about being a boy every single day. Consequentially, she doesn't have a problem with boys seeing her naked and sometimes uses the boys' bathroom... but in a bizarre inversion of [[SitchSituational Sexuality]], becomes attracted to Shingo because he's the only person who's afraid of her. What's more, she lives in a [[Big Fancy House]] and is a total (explicitly identified) [[Yamato Nadeshiko]] at home, which only complicates matters further.

* Beth from ''[[Petite Princess Yucie]]'' uses ''ore''. She is one tough cookie, alright.

* Hungary from ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia]]''. When she was a young [[Cute Bruiser]], she assumed that she would grow up to be a boy and that everyone eventually grew a penis. She eventually grew into a [[Ninja Maid]] [[Cool Big Sis]], even marrying one of the two [[Team Dad|Team Dads]]s in the cast.

** The [http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-526.html character sketches] hint that Belgium, shown as [[The Ojou]] in "Metting of the World", is ojou-ish in official meetings but switches to [[Bokukko]] when [[Let's Get Dangerous|she has to handle war-related and/or real life affairs]].

** Actually, the closest to a canon [[Bokukko]] is... [[Long Hair Is Feminine|the]] [[Princesses Prefer Pink|very]] [[The Ojou|feminine]] Monaco, who is said to have speech patterns akin to an old man's.

* Kino from ''[[Kino's Journey]]'' confusingly alternates between "boku" and "atashi".

** She only uses "atashi" in flashbacks when she's still conflicted about her identity. It's an [[Establishing Character Moment]] when she switches to "boku" for good.

* Played with in ''[[Video Girl Ai]]''. Lead female Ai Amano was supposed to be a [[Yamato Nadeshiko]], but since her video was played in a broken VCR, she became a [[Tsundere]]-ish [[Bokukko]]. She refers to herself as "ore", i.e.

* [[Genki Girl|Asa Shigure]] and her [[Hot Shounen Mom]], Ama in ''[[ShuffleSHUFFLE!]]''.

** There's always ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'''s Yubel for a rather creepy example. {{spoiler|Technically, Yubel is more of a he/she considering the whole hermaphrodite thing. However, s/he's constantly proclaiming her love for Judai, and was originally a human girl.}}

*** Actually, the gender of Yubel's human self is still in mass debate. [[Internet Backdraft|Giving this level of conviction about it in some forums will cause a flame war royal.]]

*** The dub places Yubel as a girl in both forms, largely to avoid [[Squick]] from viewers and more likely outraged parents who would want to shield their children from the existence of hermaphrodites.

* [[No Name Given|Tomokane]] from ''[[GA Geijutsuka Art Design Class]]'' does not use ''boku'' -- she—she uses ''[[Japanese Pronouns|ore]]'', among other things that would lead to [[Viewer Gender Confusion]].

* Subverted in ''Zetsuai1989''. Kouji Nanjo ''thought'' that the angry, spirited, tormented child he met as a kid in the soccer courts was a [[Bokukko]]... [[Dropped a Bridget On Him|but she WAS a]] ''[[Dropped a Bridget On Him|boy]]''. Cue [[Gayngst]] when he finds out the truth, several years later.

** In Kouji's defense, [[wikipedia:Izumi|"Izumi"]] is both a very common last name ''and'' a [[Gender Blender Name]] (though mostly used by women) in Japan.

** A meta example happens with Nitori. He identifies as female, and is quite a [[Yamato Nadeshiko]], however still refers to himself as "boku".

* ''[[SoraSo noRa WotoNo Wo To]]'s'' resident [[Wrench Wench]] Noël.

* Priss didn't usually call herself "ore" in ''[[Bubblegum Crisis]]'' -- she—she only started doing so in ''Bubblegum Crash'', after [[The Other Darrin|Ryoko Tachikawa]] replaced Kinuko Oomori as her voice actress.

* In ''[[Darker Thanthan Black]]'' Ryuusei no Gemini, Suou Pavlichenko, the new female protagonist uses Boku. This doesn't help the fact that the she looks almost the same as her twin brother if she is hiding her hair

* Risky, from ''[[Risky SafetyRisky☆Safety]]'' refers to herself as "ore."

* In ''[[The World God Only Knows]]'' {{spoiler|Yui Goudou starts using "boku" and begins [[Wholesome Crossdresser|dressing like a boy]] after [[Freaky Friday Flip|she returns to her body]].}}

* Between this and her boyish personality Lizzy from [[Seikon no Qwaser]] is mistaken for a boy by many characters, until she takes off her underwear.

* Madoka Ayukawa from ''[[Kimagure Orange Road]]'' used to be a [[Bokukko]] as a child, so much that she's mistaken as a boy by {{spoiler|a time-travelling Kyousuke}}. She switches to [[Tsundere]] years later.

* [[Tomboyish Name|Elliot Chandler]] of ''[[Mai-Otome 0[[~S.ifr]]~]]'' uses "boku" on herself.

* Akira Okuzaki of ''[[MaiMy-HiME]]'' uses "ore", as she is pretending to be a boy.

* Tayune from [[Inukami!]]. Fitting as she's the token tomboy of Kaoru's harem.

* Material-L, Fate's [[Evil Twin]] in ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]] A's [[Play StationPlayStation Portable|Portable]]: The Battle of Aces'', who overuses "boku" as part of her [[The Berserker|highly aggressive personality]].

* {{spoiler|Naoto Shirogane}} in ''[[Persona 4]]'' pulls this trope off so well (in the game-verse at least) that {{spoiler|everyone is convinced that she's actually a guy.}}

** In ''[[Mitsumete Knight]]'' (one of the series' [[Spiritual Successor|Spiritual Successors]]s), Hanna Shawski is a Bokukko, while Gene Petromolla is a Ore-onna.

* Rainbow Dash in a Japanese fansub of ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'' uses ''boku'' with an overall grammatical style reminiscent of a shonen [[Idiot Hero]].

== [[Real Life]] ==

* While it's very rare, some real Japanese girls do use masculine pronouns. Those who do so fall into three types--girlstypes—girls who use them as a feminist statement, those who do it to imitate anime and game characters to be cutesy, and very young (preschool-age) girls who haven't been trained to use traditionally feminine pronouns by societal pressure. The Japanese page on this phenomenon on [[The Other Wiki]] notes that this is a very recent trend. See also [http://www.inst.at/trans/16Nr/01_4/ito16.htm this case study] on use of ''boku'' vs. use of ''watashi'' in young girls.

[[Category:BokukkoTrope Names from Japanese]]