Hunk

Revision as of 13:28, 18 May 2023 by Coffee Lover (talk | contribs) (Added Asta from Black Clover and Fred Jones from Scooby-Doo! and updated Johnny Bravo.)

The classic European and American standard of male beauty,[2] the hunk is two things: handsome and manly.

Those muscles aren't the only big thing he's got. Just ask his girlfriend. [1]

His face tends to be squarish and sharp-featured, often with a prominent chin. He has big, well-muscled arms and a large torso with pronounced muscles. He also has fairly thick, muscular legs, though they get less attention. It is often implied that he is as well-endowed between the legs as in the arms. The hunk may or may not have body hair, depending on the time period, and facial hair is negotiable. Guaranteed, however, to adopt Perma-Stubble during his choice moments as Estrogen Brigade Bait.

Clothing tends to be simple and timeless. Nowadays, a hunk's casual wardrobe will consist of tight jeans and either a tank top, tight T-shirt, or flannel shirt (if he wears one at all. works oriented at a female audience have him not in increasing numbers). For work and formal events, a smart suit is a given.

The hero of a story, if male, is frequently a hunk, particularly in an action series. If the lead character is a woman, the leading man or the heroine's Love Interest, if not both, tends to be a hunk.

It is rare for a hunk to be an outright villain. However, a nasty hunk is often used to deliver the Moral of the Story. In this case, the (usually young, often teenage) heroine will imagine him to be a perfect Knight in Shining Armour type, but he's actually a Prince Charmless, Jerkass or vain prick, thus proving that one should not judge another based on appearances.

Mr. Fanservice is usually one of these. Contrast Pretty Boy. East Asian pop-culture tends to use Bishonen as the go-to "hot guy standard" instead.

Examples of Hunk include:

Advertising

  • Calvin Klein hires hunks as underwear models.
  • Abercrombie and Fitch is built on this trope.
  • The Old Spice Guy openly exploits and lampshades this trope.


Anime and Manga

  • Gene Starwind in Outlaw Star.
  • Guts of Berserk due to constantly fighting since childhood.
  • Portgas D. Ace in One Piece is a skilled fighter that served the pirate Whitebeard.
    • Roronoa Zoro due to a lifetime of training.
  • Son Goku in Dragon Ball is Earth's mightiest warrior and always looks forward to training.
    • His son, Gohan in his teen years.
    • Future Trunks due to training under Son Gohan in a Bad Future.
    • It's pretty much easier to list the males in Dragon Ball that aren't hunks.
  • Inugami of Wolf Guy Wolfen Crest.
  • Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez of Bleach
    • Main protagonist Kurosaki Ichigo has his moments. He's constantly training to ensure he stays powerful enough to keep his loved ones safe.
  • Shin Seijurou from Eyeshield 21.
  • Kamina from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann due to his life as a digger.
  • Kurogane from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle.
  • Tyranno Hassleberry from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX is presumably this due to his hobby of digging for dinosaur fossils.
    • Damon due to survival training in the jungle and letting his hair grow. He's basically a Expy of Tarzan.
    • Kagemaru became a villainous example when his youth is restored and empowered by the Sacred Beasts. It's shortlived when he and the Sacred Beasts are defeated by Jaden.
  • Souma Mizuno from Fire in His Fingertips is quite buff due to his job as a firefighter. He's also quite well-endowed according to his girlfriend and uses that along with his strength training to be quite the lover to her. He's also the page image.
    • Jun Hase and Yuuki Izumi for the same reason as Souma.
  • Rekka from Blood Shadow due to training with the Crimson Lotus nearly his whole life.
  • Akuji Yamamoto from Daiakuji due to him being a soldier and fighting to stop the misandrist government, Womenrica.
  • Due to lacking magic his entire life, Asta from Black Clover began training his body from an early age to make up for it.

Comic Books

  • Superman is usually drawn this way. Clark Kent varies by the artist.
  • Bruce Wayne aka Batman is also frequently drawn in a hunky manner.
  • Most male comic book heroes, really. It would probably be quicker to list the aversions of this trope.
  • Bruce Banner averts it, being short and skinny. His alter-ego doesn't fare much better, as he is generally drawn as extremely muscular but troll-faced. However, during the 90s Bruce Banner and the Hulk were merged into a single persona and this new incarnation was drawn with the Hulk's body and Banner's face, creating a (green) hunk.


Film


Literature

  • Carrot Ironfoundersson in Discworld is described as being pretty hunky.


Live-Action TV


Professional Wrestling

Video Games

Western Animation

  1. Source: Anime Episode 8 of Fire in His Fingertips Season 1
  2. there was a period in the 18th and 19th centuries when Pretty Boy was the standard, but hunks have been more commonly admired at other times