Meganekko: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Literally, "glasses girl"—one of the classic "sweet girl" stereotypes in anime. [[Moe|Cute enough]] without [[Kawaiiko|going overboard]] or posing the threat that a more conventionally beautiful girl might, [http://robkelk.ottawa-anime.org/meganekko/index.html the meganekko] is usually pleasant, smart, ''and'' clever. And something about the fact that she needs glasses seems to imply an endearing vulnerability that makes her far more accessible to the average guy. After the [[Yamato Nadeshiko]], she's the second-best girl that a boy can bring home to meet his parents and probably the more realistic of the two. Naturally, as with any stereotype, the meganekko can be inverted or subverted, but the vast majority in anime are sweet, smart and—when found in a major role—usually more than a challenge for a male lead to keep up with. Occasionally she's an [[Cool Loser|unpopular character]] within the story, but [[Unpopular Popular Character|not with the fans]].

Glasses on a [[Hot Librarian]] or [[Sexy Secretary]] are a completely different thing. The [[Seemingly-Wholesome Fifties Girl]] may use glasses to ''pretend'' to be this trope.

 

 

When glasses result in sex appeal rather than [[Moe]], they've got [[Sexy Spectacles]].

 

{{examples}}

* Any print ad for eye wear will most likely feature one.

** Any ''other'' ad will most likely ''not''.

 

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

** Later a genuine Meganekko, Hasegawa Sora, showed up in the cast.

* ''[[Ai Kora]]'': Yukari, who even has a [[Les Yay|fangirl]] of her own with a glasses fetish. The mangaka even devoted a whole chapter to this topic: when Yukari feels insecure about her looks, thinking that her glasses make her ugly, the aforementioned fangirl takes her to a cafe full of glasses fetishists, who make her model different outfits ''and'' glasses and repeat that the glasses enhance the look. They even teach her 'glasses techniques', like peering over the glasses, etc. Of course, when she meets the protagonist and tries it out, he doesn't notice, because ''his'' fetish [[Buxom Is Better|ain't her glasses]].

* The titular character of ''[[Amuri in Star Ocean]]'' wears glasses and has the typical personality. She even wears them while in her [[Super Mode]].

*** England's and Sweden's [[Gender Flip|Nyotalia]] versions also have glasses. Strangely, America's and Austria's don't. Canada's kept them.

** Among the Japanese prefectures, we have two meganes ''and'' one meganekko. The boys are [http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd391/cvicchen/jp_toya.jpg Touyama] and [http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/dd391/cvicchen/jp_iba.jpg Ibaraki], the girl is [http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii279/aircon_otaku/APH972.jpg Fukui.]

** [[Discussed Trope]] in the movie's extras when the director Mizushima and Kugimiya Rie (Al) talk about glasses for three minutes and invoke the popularity of the ''meganekko''.

* ''[[Futari wa Pretty Cure]]'': Yuriko and Kayo Andou, one of the class reps in ''[[Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star|Splash Star]]''.

** In the fanfic ''[[Pretty Cure Perfume Preppy]]'', Hanae sports red-lensed glasses (only taking them off for ballet sessions) and loses them everytime she turns into Cure Tangerine.

** Both Tsubomi and Yuri in ''[[Heartcatch Pretty Cure]]'', but Tsubomi only wears hers occasionally.

* ''[[Lyrical Nanoha]]'': Played straight by Nanoha's elder sister Miyuki and the [[Wrench Wench]] Shario "Shari" Finieno in ''[[Nanoha Striker S]]''.

** Also subverted by Quattro in the third season. She [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|looks and acts the part]], but all of that hides a [[Smug Snake]] who's nasty to the core.

* ''[[Magic Knight Rayearth]]'': Fuu.

* ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'': Haruna Saotome, Satomi Hakase, Chisame Hasegawa when she's not being [[Cosplay Otaku Girl|net idol Chiu]]. Kazumi Asakura and Evangeline A.K. McDowell sometimes wears glasses. The same goes for Nodoka's cosplay form in the [[Gag Series]] ''[[Negima Second Season|Negima!?]]'' and the mostly manga-only character Tsukuyomi.

** ''Negima'' tends to subvert the "sweet girl" part. Haruna is downright ''scary'', Chisame is far more [[Meta Guy|snarky]] than sweet, Hakase is a [[Mad Scientist]], and as for Tsukuyomi...'''''[[Psycho Lesbian|HOLY SHIT]]'''''.

* ''[[My-HiME]]'' and ''[[Mai-Otome]]'': Yukino Kikukawa, whose shyness provides a perfect balance for her very outspoken [[Heterosexual Life Partners|best friend]] Haruka. Her ''[[Mai-Otome]]'' [[Expy]], Irina, also wears cute-girl frames, but they're smaller and rounder.

** On the other hand, Chie from the same series seems like she'd be a meganekko, but turns out to really be a [[Bifauxnen]].

* ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'': Shockingly, {{spoiler|Homura}} was one. [[Adorkable|Adorkably cute]] with her glasses, but [[The Glasses Come Off|the glasses came off]] when she decided to get serious.

* ''[[Queen's Blade]]'' has Cattleya, who plays the trope straight with her sweet, motherly personality, but also subverts stereotype by being the [[Statuesque Stunner|biggest]] fighter ([[Boobs of Steel|in more ways than one]]) and the most [[Bruiser with a Soft Center|physically powerful]].

* ''[[Read or Die]]'': Yomiko Readman.

** Somewhat unique among "cute girl" stereotype-types, as during ''[[R.O.D the TV]]'' it's mentioned that she's ''[[Christmas Cake|over thirty]]''. Oddly, her looks haven't changed at all since her first manga appearance, when she stated (honestly) that she was 23.

** Nenene Sumiregawa in the same series is also quite the Meganekko herself, though her personality doesn't fit the usual stereotype.

* ''[[Real Drive]]'' has Secretary-General Erika Takanami and the android modeled after her, Holon.

** Also subtly lampshaded in that the finale reveals that {{spoiler|Anthy doesn't even NEED to wear glasses, and was seemingly wearing them at Akio's order, most likely to make her look more submissive and timid. When she finally breaks ties with him, she illustrates this by taking off her glasses and leaving them on his desk, and heading out into the world without them.}}

*** This is hinted at in one of the next episode previews much earlier in the series {{spoiler|where Anthy casually remarks that she can see better WITHOUT her glasses.}}

* ''[[Rosario + Vampire]]'': [[Hot Teacher|Shizuka and Ririko]].

* ''[[Sailor Moon]]'': Mizuno Ami (Amy in the English dub) is an interesting example, though they were an obvious metaphor for Ami's introversion and fear of making friends. In the original manga, she just used them for reading occasionally, and the anime rarely showed them at all. However, in ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'', she seemed to have caved to fan appeal, and wore them more or less all the time in the earlier episodes.

* ''[[Saki (manga)|Saki]]'': All four teams have one. Kiyosumi has Mako, Ryuumonbuchi has Tomoki, Kazekoshi has Miharu, and Tsuruga has Kaori. They all somehow ended up facing one another in the second round.

* ''[[Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei]]'': Harumi Fujiyoshi is a meganekko, and sees her teacher's wearing of glasses as [[Teacher-Student Romance|one of his most attractive traits]]. In fact, when one day he loses his glasses and comes to class wearing contacts, Harumi promptly ''[[Dope Slap|slaps them out of his head]]'', forcing him to procure [[Rose Tinted Glasses|a new pair of spectacles]].

* ''[[Zombie Loan]]'' has Michiru, though in more later chapters, she begins to stop wearing them as often.

 

* ''[[Alpha Flight]]'': A long-defining trait of Heather Hudson. Unfortunately, she got laser eye surgery when she became Vindicator and no longer wore them.

* [[Batgirl]] has used glasses as her secret identity. Barbara Gordon is the quintessential [[Hot Librarian]].

* ''Galacta'', the daughter of Galactus, wears a cute pair of glasses as part of her "Galli" identity.

* ''[[Scott Pilgrim]]'': Julie Powers and Lynette Guycott.

* ''[[Wonder Woman]]'': Similar to the [[Batgirl]] example, she has worn glasses [[Clark Kenting|as her secret identity]], Diana Prince.

* ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'': Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat. Her [[Intangible Man|phasing]] prevents her from using contacts... awww, too bad!

 

* ''[[Guardians of Pokémon]]'': According to the author, Mitsumi is based on this archetype.

* ''[[Skin (fanfic)|Skin]]'': For some reason, during the time before 'going blind' became too serious, [[Yu-Gi-Oh!|Shizuka Kawai]] was one for a short period of time. After her blindness took a nasty turn and surgery was required, this quickly stopped.

 

* ''[[Alone in the Dark (2005 film)|Alone in The Dark]]'': Tara Reid's character.

* ''[[Austin Powers]]'': Vanessa Kensington (Elizabath Hurley) in her first few scenes in the first movie. Also, Austin is a male example.

* ''[[Jennifer's Body]]'': Needy ([[Amanda Seyfried]]).

* ''[[Jurassic Park]]'': Dr. Ellie Sattler ([[Laura Dern]]), already hot, gets just a little bit hotter in the movie's scene in the park's tourist museum and dinosaur egg laboratory when she puts on a pair of glasses.

* ''[[Night at the Museum]] 2: Battle Of The Smithsonian'': [[Amy Adams]] as {{spoiler|the woman Ben Stiller's character meets at the end of who resembles the other person Adams played, a wax figure of [[Amelia Earhart]] come to life.}}

* ''Ocean's Thirteen'': Abigail Sponder (Ellen Barkin).

{{quote|'''Katherine Johnson:''' "I will have you know, I was the first negro female student at West Virginia university graduate school. On any given day, I analyze the binomial levels air displacement, friction and velocity. And compute over ten thousand calculations by cosine, square root and lately analytic geometry. By hand. There are twenty, bright, highly capable negro women in the west computing group, and we're proud to be doing our part for the country. So yes, they let women do some things at NASA, Mr. Johnson. And it's not because we wear skirts. It's because we wear glasses. Have a good day."}}

 

* ''[[Friday the 13th|Friday the 13th: Hate-Kill-Repeat]]'': An FBI agent mentions his new partner suddenly goes from hot to absolutely adorable when she briefly puts on a pair of reading glasses.

* Bernice in ''[[This Present Darkness]]''. In her introductory scene, she's mentioned as being very attractive and wearing glasses in the same sentence.

 

 

* ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'': Bernadette, Amy, and Leslie. Also, Leonard is a male version.

* ''[[Burn Notice]]'': The episode "Partners in Crime" had Fiona donning a pair in order to pose as a CIA Agent, placing her nicely into this trope.

* ''[[Hannah Montana]]'': The episode, "You're So Vain, You Probably Think This Zit Is About You'' revealed that Lily wears contacts, and when her dog eats them, she has to wear glasses. Even though she hates them, they put her squarely into this trope.

** Also, Miley wore a pair while she was Lily's "lawyer" in the episode "You Are So Sue-able To Me".

* ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'': Another medical example, Dr. Cameron occasionally puts some specs on. And frankly looks way hotter in them.

** Dr. Park is almost never seen without her glasses.

* Brazilian actress Tania Khalill at the novela "Fina Estampa".

* ''[[Angel]]''. [[Gibbering Genius]] Winifred 'Fred' Burkle wears [[Nerd Glasses]] on occasion to highlight her braininess. Lampshaded when [[Dating Catwoman|Lilah Morgan]] gets jealous over Wesley pining over Fred and dresses up like her to taunt him. As they're stripping off to have sex, Wes tells Lilah to keep the glasses on.

 

* Guitarist/vocalist Sheena Ozzella of the indie rock band Lemuria definitely qualifies when she's wearing glasses. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8g0BTJk_F00 Just look at her!]

* [[Taylor Swift]]. In the video for the song "You Belong With Me", she plays dual roles as a cheerleader and as a nerdy neighbor girl. For the nerdy neighbor girl part she dons a pair of glasses, which not only fail to make her look unattractive but actually make her even more beautiful.

 

 

* ''[[Peanuts]]'': Marcie.

* ''[[Zits]]'': One strip reveals that Sara wears glasses and ends with Jeremy saying, "Just when I thought she couldn't get any hotter."

 

 

* ''[[Adventures in Odyssey]]'': Katrina Shanks. Medium notwithstanding, she fits the mold of a meganekko, she acts like a meganekko, and just to dispel any remaining doubt, the official artwork (only seen in the older, less stylized pictures for good measure) depicts her as a reserved, bespectacled meganekko.

** Lucy Cunningham-Schultz, the resident [[Intrepid Reporter]] for the Odyssey Owl, is another example.

 

 

* The ''[[Ace Attorney]]'' series: Maggey Byrde.

** Adrian Andrews, an actor's manager; Penny, a film set designer; and to a goggle extent, Ema Skye.

* ''[[Arcana Heart]]'': [[Cute Witch|Yoriko]].

* ''[[Backyard Sports]]'': Lisa Crocket (now Crockett).

* ''[[Bayonetta]]'' is here to challenge Yomiko for the Meganekko throne.

** [[Paper Master|Paper]] or [[Prehensile Hair|hair]]? [[Guilty Gear|Let's rock!]]

** ''[[Xenogears]]'': Also, her predecessor, Citan Uzuki/Hyuuga Ricdeau.

 

* ''[[CROSS†CHANNEL]]'': Misato Miyasumi.

* ''[[Fate/stay night|Fate Stay Night]]'': Rin wears glasses when she's in teacher mode—with sexy results. In the sequel ''[[Fate/hollow ataraxia]]'', Rider has a [[Power Limiter|more functional]] pair that she wears when she's in civvies.

 

 

* ''[[The Dreamland Chronicles]]'': Nicole is one of these. Glasses are a little smaller than the usual fare, but she certainly fits the trope.

* ''[[Eerie Cuties]]'' brings us Cloe, the Meganekko [[Moe]] [[Horny Devil|succubus]].

{{quote|'''"Homeless Blog"''': The loneliness is only magnified by the attention I ''do'' receive. Somehow I have a "quiet, nerdy thing goin' on" that some guys find attractive. This scares me.}}

* ''[[Homestuck]]'': Jade Harley is a [http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=002668 classic example]. In what could probably be attributed to [[Author Appeal]], half the main cast wears glasses, so she's not the only one - other examples present include Vriska Serket and ([[Cool Shades|ar]][[Goggles Do Nothing|gu]][[Your Mileage May Vary|ably]]) Terezi Pyrope and Feferi Peixes. {{spoiler|Jade's brother}} John Egbert is a male example. Also present is Jane Crocker, {{spoiler|John and Jade's genetic mother}}.

** Howard even has an... unplanned emission, the first (and second) times he sees her this way. [[Don't Explain the Joke|I mean an orgasm, of course]].

** Another ''[[Walkyverse]]'' example is Walky's high-school sweetheart Dorothy.

 

 

* ''[[Gaia Online]]'', with its strong anime influence, has several.

** Meredith, an [[Office Lady]]

* ''[[Fenspace]]'' has one character who can build a [[Robot Girl]] version of almost any fictional character - as long as she wears glasses in the in-universe source material. This is why the setting has [[Captain Ersatz]] versions of so many anime meganekko.

 

* ''[[Alvin and The Chipmunks]]'': Jeanette of the Chipettes. A [[Funny Animal]] example.

** Janet Van Dorn, Gotham City's District Attorney.

* ''[[Bonkers]]'': Marilyn Piquel.

* ''[[Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs]]'': Sam Sparks, about midway through, when she decides to embrace the nerdier side she kept hidden for so long with Flint's help.

* ''[[Daria]]'': The title character, though she may be something of an inversion—it's pretty well established that Daria is naturally attractive and dresses down to avoid attention, so it's not too clear if the glasses work for her or against her.

*** [[The Ditz|Brittany]] also entered the trope in the episode "Through a Lens Darkly" where she gets a set of glasses thinking they'll make her smarter.

* ''[[Fairly Oddparents]]'': Tootie.

* ''[[Scooby Doo]]'': Although it had Daphne to (ostensibly) fill its sex appeal quotient, others preferred Velma, who is [[Blind Without'Em|pretty much synonymous with those glasses of hers.]]

** Velma in the cartoons somewhat fits; Velma in the live action films definitely does.

* ''[[Swat Kats]]'': Deputy Mayor Callie Briggs. One of the reasons she's a [[Fetish Fuel Station Attendant]]—even to people not particulary into furries. Another [[Funny Animal]] example.

* ''[[Tale Spin]]'': Myra, the friendly, intelligent [[Adventurer Archaeologist]] from the episode "In Search of Ancient Blunders". Another [[Funny Animal]] example.

* ''[[Total Drama Island]]'': Beth.

* ''[[Wayside]]'': Dana.

----

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Glasses Tropes]]

[[Category:Harem Genre]]

[[Category:Costume Tropes]]

[[Category:Turn-On Tropes]]