View source for Dangerously-Short Skirt

{{trope}}
[[File:Rikku2 4167.jpg|link=Final Fantasy X-2|frame|Dressed for kicking ass, while showing hers off.]]

{{quote|'''[[Jerry Lawler]]''': "Whoever she is, I like what she's not wearing!"
'''Coach''': "...the crowd seems delighted."
'''[[Jim Ross]]''': "[[Not Distracted by the Sexy|That woman can fight!]]"
|Mickie James debuts, ''Monday Night Raw''}}

A [[Fan Service]] trope, where [[Action Girl]]s wear short, above-the-knees skirts.

This is a great way to [[She's Got Legs|show off her long legs]], but the [[Theiss Titillation Theory|anticipation of getting an eyeful underneath]] is also welcomed, despite the bruises that might come from trying to sneak a peek. Sometimes, it doesn't have to be a skirt—it could be a minidress, a miniskirt, or a torn-apart garment that conveniently serves as a skirt. In addition, getting a [[Panty Shot]] isn't always guaranteed, but it can compensate by including [[Zettai Ryouiki]], [[Stocking Filler]] or [[Thigh-High Boots]], to further emphasize the legs.

A skirt qualifies as dangerously short if it's high above the knees, prone to swirling aside (despite [[Magic Skirt|physics saying otherwise]]) and appears tight enough to ride up for a [[Panty Shot]]. Being an [[Action Girl]] is an added bonus, and a common subversion is to have her as a [[Faux Action Girl]] or a [[Neutral Female]].

This trope does make a ''tiny'' bit of sense: if you're wearing a tight skirt into combat, you'd want it to be pretty short. The longer it is, the more it'll restrict your leg movements. However, wearing a looser, longer skirt would work just as well. Or wearing, ya know, ''pants''. [[Who Wears Short Shorts?|Or shorts]]. Or a short skirt [[Modesty Shorts|''and'' shorts]].

[[Sub-Trope]] of [[She's Got Legs]], [[Stocking Filler]] and [[Zettai Ryouiki]].

{{noreallife|we'd be here all day.}}

{{examples}}

==  Anime and Manga  ==
* Yuri Nakamura, Kanade Tachibana, Shiina and Yui from ''[[Angel Beats!]]''
* ''[[Beet the Vandel Buster]]'' has Milfa wears micro-miniskirts, Poala as well.
* This regularly shows up in ''[[Bleach]]'':
** Tier Harribel, after she goes [[One-Winged Angel]], dons a more stripperific outfit which leads this.
** Loly Aivirrne qualifies by wearing a schoolgirl-themed skirt despite being an Arrancar.
** Rangiku Matsumoto enjoys wearing one when she's in the human world.
** Lisa Yadomaru wore both a ruffled miniskirt as a lieutenant, and a schoolgirl skirt as a Visored. She's fought in both outfits.
** Riruka Dokugamine sports a minidress, but surprised fans (who thought of her as a [[Faux Action Girl]]) by being a gun-toting [[Combat Pragmatist]].
** Ying and Yang, the [[Bodyguard Babes]] of Kusaka in the second movie, wear and fight in schoolgirl-type skirts.
** Rukia Kuchiki one kicked Shrieker in the jaw while wearing a school uniform. The skirts' length is even lampshaded by Kon when he looks up at her after she kicks him to the ground.
** Orihime Inoue wears one in the tenth opening theme song, called Shojo S. She also wears a schoolgirl uniform, complete with [[Zettai Ryouiki]] following the [[Time Skip]], but when she tried to fight, she was taken by surprise and ultimately lost.
** Cirucci Sanderwicci wears a gothic lolita-style dress. Pesche Guatiche even tried to take a peek since her skirt was so high up.
** Even Senna isn't exempt from such a fashion choice, but she's never fought while in it.
** Homura from the third movie has her Shihakusho modified in such a way that the lower half is turned into a miniskirt. Like Senna, Homura herself never fights in it.
** When Nelliel turns back into her adult form, her clothes don't change with her leaving a cropped top and a miniskirt.
** Nemu Kurotsuchi wears a miniskirt so far above her knees that it's a wonder why she hasn't received a [[Panty Shot]] yet, especially since it fully shows off her legs.
** Nozomi Kujo from the Invading Army filler arc.
* Lenalee of ''[[D.Gray-man]]'' wears one with [[Modesty Shorts]] underneath.
* Anri's skirt in ''[[Durarara!!]]'' is ridiculously short.
* ''[[FLCL]]''. Mamimi Samejima wears one of these, but she's ''not'' an [[Action Girl]].
* ''[[Fresh Precure]]'' has Cure Peach and Cure Berry.
* ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam 00]]'' has Louise Halevy, in the second season. She almost qualified as a [[Dark Action Girl]], though, what with her (admittedly justified) level-upping in jerkassity.
* In ''[[Hellsing]]'', Seras Victoria has a short miniskirt, but only one [[Panty Shot]].
* ''[[Highschool of the Dead]]'' is a famous example, where ''every'' [[Action Girl]] has a skirt.
* ''Any'' of the girls in ''[[Ikki Tousen]]''.
* Kagome Higurashi from ''[[Inuyasha]]''. That's supposed to be her [[Catholic School Girls Rule|school uniform]].
* Similarly, the female Ashford Academy uniforms in ''[[Code Geass]]''.
* Togame in ''[[Katanagatari]]'' has a very short ripped-up skirt.
* In the anime version of ''[[Love Hina]]'', ''[[Lady of War|Motoko]]'' wore a school uniform with [[Girlish Pigtails]], slight [[Zettai Ryouiki]] and a Dangerously-Short Skirt while holding a book. However, she doesn't get to fight in it, and it's used ''against'' her by the resident [[Clingy Jealous Girl]], who seduced her while disguised as Naru as part of a [[Batman Gambit]].
* Running absolutely rampant in ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'', where about 98% of the female characters wear them.
* Ino Yamanaka on ''[[Naruto]]'' has a short skirt, and while she's proved herself to be an Actiongirl, she wears bandages under it. Temari (who's more like a [[Lady of War]]) could qualify as this as well, with all but one of the outfits she's worn that's incorporated a short skirt.
* ''[[One Piece]]'' has this as one of Nami's outfits. The next one is even more questionable.
** Robin also qualifies, particularly when she wore [[Thigh-High Boots]] and a [[Nice Hat]].
* ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'' anime has Dawn Hikari and her hip-length skirt, disturbing considering her age. She's ''not'' an [[Action Girl]], though, since she leaves most of her fighting to her Pokémon.
* ''[[Queen's Blade]]'' has Captain Liliana.
* In ''[[Rosario + Vampire]]'', this is the source of much of the [[Fan Service]] in the anime. A Dangerously Short Skirt is apparently required by the dress code. At one point, the [[Moral Guardians]] attempt to require all female students wear much longer skirts (ankle length), which fails due to intense opposition from the students.
* In ''[[Sailor Moon]]'', the sailor scout superhero uniforms qualify.
* ''[[Shakugan no Shana]]'' has the eponymous Shana.
* Zakuro, from ''[[Tokyo Mew Mew]]''.
* Dark Magician Girl from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]''.
* ''[[Yumekui Merry]]''
** The eponymous Merry Nightmare wears such a skirt.
** Isana is another one, but she's ''far'' from an [[Action Girl]].
* In ''[[Dance in the Vampire Bund]]'', Mina wears one.
* Agnese Sanctis from ''[[A Certain Magical Index]]'', which is strange considering that she's a nun and she gets really offended if someone looks up her skirt.
* In ''[[Soul Eater]]'', Maka's skirt doesn't leave much to the imagination.

==  Comic Books  ==
* ''[[Supergirl]]''. With or without [[Modesty Shorts]], [[Depending on the Writer]].
* ''[[Shazam]]'': Mary Marvel
* Rachel Summers from the [[X-Men]], after she took up her mother's mantle as Marvel Girl. She wore a version of her mother's green miniskirt costume (slightly modified to fit current fashions, since the dress didn't age well from the 60's).

==  Film  ==
* Tinkerbell. ''Yes'', that would be from the Disney version of ''[[Peter Pan]]''. Her green dress is a [[Wardrobe Malfunction]] waiting to happen. In fact, [[Panty Shot|it ''did'' happen]]; here, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FshdEaJGmDw see for yourself.]

==  Music  ==
* The title character of ''[http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/tatayoung/sexynaughtybitchy.html Sexy, Naughty, Bitchy]'' by Tata Young. It's the first line of the chorus, even.
{{quote|I pick all my skirts to be a little too[[Dramatic Pause|...]] sexy.}}

==  Toys  ==
* ''[[Monster High]]'' has Draculaura, Clawdeen Wolf and Abbey Bominable. Since the franchise is targeted at kids, all three have [[Magic Skirt]]s.

==  Troper Works  ==
* The [[Trope Namer]] and [[Trope Maker]] comes from ''[[Soundscape]]'', where a ''large'' amount of female [[Action Girl]]s wear skirts when they fight. When one of the villains [[Lampshade Hanging|points that out]] about his female opponent, she says that it [[She's Got Legs|makes her legs more exotic]], and a [[Panty Shot]] (ideally) distracts guys enough for a slash to the neck.

==  Video Games  ==
* ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum]]'' has a subversion. Harley Quinn definitely has the short skirt down, but she's an [[Anticlimax Boss]].
* ''[[BlazBlue]]'' has [[Gun Kata|Noel Vermillion]], who's often said to be [[Going Commando]].
** Trinity wore two, one with pantyhose as a member of the Six Heroes, and another as Platinum.
** [[Good Old Fisticuffs|Makoto]] [[Cute Monster Girl|Nanaya]]'s costumes only had straps keeping her skirt held in place.
* ''[[Disgaea]]'' has Etna.
* Terra of ''[[Final Fantasy VI]]'' is one of a long line of Dangerously-Short Skirt-wearers in the ''[[Final Fantasy]]'' series; particularly noticeable in ''[[Dissidia]]''. In her original game, it looks more like she's wearing a [[Leotard of Power]], but it's close enough to her official art that it may be the case that it's ''just that short''.
* ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]'''s Tifa Lockhart wears a leather mini as animating a skirt that covered her legs was too technically complicated.
* Most of the gals in [[Skullgirls]].
* ''[[Final Fantasy VIII]]'' gives us Selphie, who does get the occasional [[Panty Shot]] when the camera zooms in.
* ''[[Final Fantasy X-2]]'''s Rikku provides the page image.
* Ashe of ''[[Final Fantasy XII]]'' rivals Rikku for skirt shortness.
* And in ''[[Final Fantasy XIII]]'', Vanille's fur skirt-thing is like this in the front, but it's longer in the back.
* ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' has Valentine, but she leaves the fighting to her [[Buffy-Speak|gigantic skull-head thing]].
* Juliet Starling, zombie hunting cheerleader heroine of ''[[Lollipop Chainsaw]]''.
* ''[[Soul Calibur]]'' has Sophitia Alexandra, an Athenean maiden who habitually wears short skirts.
** Cassandra Alexandra, Sophita's sister, also qualifies, as of ''Soul Calibur 2''.
* Shiki from ''[[The World Ends With You]]''.
* ''[[Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines]]'' has Jeanette Voerman, but she never fights on-screen.
* ''[[La Pucelle]]'' has [[Naughty Nun|Prier]] wearing a dress so short, it's actually the apron in front that prevents her from flashing everyone. She's also a [[Kick Chick]].
* The Succubus boss in ''[[Vindictus]]''.

==  Web Original  ==
* An exaggerated version is conversed in the [[Urban Dictionary]] article on miniskirts.
{{quote|A skirt that is at least 1 inch shorter than one's finger tips.}}
:''Put your hands at your sides, if your finger tips can touch your thigh, you're in a mini.''
* Male version with [[The Nostalgia Critic]] in [[Suburban Knights]]. When he walks up a hill, that thing is nearly at his hip. The [[Fan Service]] and the pain he was in from the cold has been lampshaded by nearly all the cast commentaries.

==  Western Animation  ==
* The third season of ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'' has the famous [[Beach Episode]] with Ty Lee and Azula. While both are [[Action Girl]]s, the only fighting they've done in those skirts, is by playing volleyball. [[Serious Business|Rather intense volleyball]], but still.
* Starfire in the animated ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' show.
* Gender-flipped variant: Him of ''[[The Powerpuff Girls]]'' had this, combined with [[Zettai Ryouiki]], [[Thigh-High Boots]] and abundant [[Fan Disservice]]. The whole design of the guy ([[Ambiguous Gender|?]]) puts [[The Rocky Horror Picture Show|Doctor Frank-n-Furter]] to shame.
* Most of the female characters of the DCAU are [[Action Girl]]s. But one that stands out the most is [[Bodyguard Babes|Mercy]] [[Battle Butler|Graves]]. Her dress is insanely short, and only kept down by virtue of being a [[Magic Skirt]].

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Partial Nudity Tropes]]
[[Category:Stripperiffic]]
[[Category:Dresses, Gowns, and Skirts]]
[[Category:The Sixties]]
[[Category:Fanservice Costumes]]
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:No Real Life Examples, Please]]