Meganekko: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"...fanboys make passes at girls who wear glasses."''|'''Neil Sinclair''', alt.fan.bgcrisis}}

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]].

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]].

The glasses are the important part, though. Whether she's [[Blind Without'Em]] or [[Purely Aesthetic Glasses|not,]] they are key to her appeal. This is one girl who doesn't need a "[[Beautiful All Along]]" transformation; in fact, [[Unnecessary Makeover|taking her glasses away]] <s>might</s> is an almost surefire way to ''reduce'' her [[Nerds Are Sexy|attractiveness]]!

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* ''[[Elemental Gelade]]'': Viro.

* ''[[11eyes]]'': Yukiko Hirohara. {{spoiler|Turns out she wears the glasses to keep her cold-blooded [[Split Personality|other side]] in check.}}

* ''[[Fruits Basket]]'' lampshades this when Tohru and Yuki go to Ayame's shop and meet his ~~assistant -- a~~ glasses-wearing girl in a [[Meido|maid outfit]] who proceeds to explain the long tradition of Meganekko to [[Heroic BSOD|HeroicBSODing]] Yuki.

* ''[[Fruits Basket]]'' lampshades this when Tohru and Yuki go to Ayame's shop and meet his assistant—a glasses-wearing girl in a [[Meido|maid outfit]] who proceeds to explain the long tradition of Meganekko to [[Heroic BSOD|HeroicBSODing]] Yuki.

* ''[[FLCL]]'': Parodied with Ninamori Eiri. She really does need glasses, which she hides by wearing contacts. Even when her part in a school play calls for her to wear glasses, she uses lensless ones over her contacts to preserve her secret.

* ''[[Flunk Punk Rumble]]'' (Yankee-kun to Megane-chan in Japan): Adachi Hana, aka Megane-chan, tries to cover her past being a [[Delinquent]] by becoming a Meganekko and [[Class Representative]]. And it works.

* Satellizer L Bridget from ''[[Freezing]]'' is a particularly good example, as her [[Moe]] factor is most obvious when she has them on.

* ''[[Fullmetal Alchemist]]'': Sheska/Sczieska even [[Hot Librarian|works in a library]].

** At one point in the story, Riza {{spoiler|pops out the lenses from [[The Short Guy with Glasses|Fury]]'s glasses and parades around in them, as a (somewhat ineffective) disguise}}. She also wears glasses in several [[~~Omake|omakes~~]] and a video game. The "reason" for all this seems to be [[Fan Service|she just looks hot in them]].

** At one point in the story, Riza {{spoiler|pops out the lenses from [[The Short Guy with Glasses|Fury]]'s glasses and parades around in them, as a (somewhat ineffective) disguise}}. She also wears glasses in several [[omake]]s and a video game. The "reason" for all this seems to be [[Fan Service|she just looks hot in them]].

** [[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]]''.

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* ''[[Kokoro Library]]'': Aruto.

* ''[[K-On!]]'': Nodoka is pretty calm and friendly, and like everyone else, mostly gets annoyed with Ritsu. Mio shows she can pull off the look by borrowing(?) her glasses temporarily, leaving her with 3s for eyes.

* [[Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service]] gives us designer frame-wearing Ao Sasaki, who is even called a [[Meganekko]] in the notes at the back of the English-language volumes of the manga. Even when she's talking to another character in a spiritual form, she still has her glasses on

* [[Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service]] gives us designer frame-wearing Ao Sasaki, who is even called a Meganekko in the notes at the back of the English-language volumes of the manga. Even when she's talking to another character in a spiritual form, she still has her glasses on

* ''[[Kyoshiro to Towa no Sora|Shattered Angels]]'': Himiko is a pretty [[Schoolgirl Lesbians|straight]]forward example.

* ''[[The Law of Ueki]]'': Rinko Jerrad. Mori Ai also has ~~glasses--and~~ {{spoiler|her powers are based around them}}~~--but~~ she wears them atop her head rather than over her eyes.

* ''[[The Law of Ueki]]'': Rinko Jerrad. Mori Ai also has glasses—and {{spoiler|her powers are based around them}}—but she wears them atop her head rather than over her eyes.

* ''[[Love Hina]]'': Naru Narusegawa after the first few episodes when her [[Nerd Glasses]] transform into "pretty girl" frames. Thing is, she was doing it for the same reason as Miu Fuurinji above: to avoid attracting the attention of boys.

* ''Loveless'' has so many meganekko and megane it's believed that the author has a fetish for it. Some female examples are Shinonome-sensei, Kouya, and Nana.

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** 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.

* ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion]]'': Mari Illustrious Makinami appeared to be this when the first pictures of her were released (to the point where her [[Fan Nickname]] was Glasses Girl). It turns out that she's an [[Ax Crazy]] [[Blood Knight]] almost as insane as the [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits|rest of the cast]], constantly talking and even ''singing'' to herself. She's also oddly fixated on her sense of smell to the point of spontaneously walking up to Shinji to sniff at him, and she actually ''likes'' fighting bizzare [[Eldritch Abomination~~|Eldritch Abominations~~]], complete with [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]], a [[Slasher Smile|huge grin]] on her face, and a [[Heroic RROD|secret password]] to give her mecha a fitting new look.

* ''[[Rebuild of Evangelion]]'': Mari Illustrious Makinami appeared to be this when the first pictures of her were released (to the point where her [[Fan Nickname]] was Glasses Girl). It turns out that she's an [[Ax Crazy]] [[Blood Knight]] almost as insane as the [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits|rest of the cast]], constantly talking and even ''singing'' to herself. She's also oddly fixated on her sense of smell to the point of spontaneously walking up to Shinji to sniff at him, and she actually ''likes'' fighting bizzare [[Eldritch Abomination]]s, complete with [[Glowing Eyes of Doom]], a [[Slasher Smile|huge grin]] on her face, and a [[Heroic RROD|secret password]] to give her mecha a fitting new look.

* ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'': Anthy's gentle and objectively intelligent nature seems to fit the role, though her apparent ditzyness is explained in a dark and extreme subversion later on.

** 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.}}

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* ''[[Sakura Taisen]]'': Li Kohran.

* ''[[Secret of Evermore]]'': Elizabeth "Fire Eyes" Ruffleberg.

* ''[[Skullgirls]]'': Some of [[Hourglass Hottie|Parasoul]]'s [[Palette Swap~~|Palette Swaps~~]] give her glasses.

* ''[[Skullgirls]]'': Some of [[Hourglass Hottie|Parasoul]]'s [[Palette Swap]]s give her glasses.

* ''[[Songs of Araiah]]'': Melissa.

* ''[[Starcraft]] II'': Ariel Hanson, who has been described by Blizzard as "[[Hot Scientist|a doctor lady with glasses who looks really cute]]".

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== Visual Novels ==

* ''[[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.

* ''[[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.

** There's a FSN [[Doujinshi|doujin]] ("Beat Your Fate") where we see Sakura give Rider the glasses, secretly thinking this will make sure Shirou doesn't fall for ~~her -- at~~ which point he turns out to be a "glasses man". The rest of the [[Unwanted Harem|harem]] immediately start trying pairs on. Sakura has no choice but to do the same... and Shirou tells her she looks more ''plain'' with glasses.

** There's a FSN [[Doujinshi|doujin]] ("Beat Your Fate") where we see Sakura give Rider the glasses, secretly thinking this will make sure Shirou doesn't fall for her—at which point he turns out to be a "glasses man". The rest of the [[Unwanted Harem|harem]] immediately start trying pairs on. Sakura has no choice but to do the same... and Shirou tells her she looks more ''plain'' with glasses.

* ''[[Sono Hanabira ni Kuchizuke wo]]'': Played with by Kaede, who is [[Shrinking Violet|shy and kind]] and is the [[Class Representative]] but is really only an average student. [[Lampshaded Trope|Lampshaded]] by Sara, who asks if Kaede is an honour student, and admits that she only thought she was because her glasses and plait gave off that impression. However, while Sara doesn't have any particular feelings about Kaede's glasses, she dislikes the personality they give her, preferring a more masculine, [[Bifauxnen]] type of personality, which Kaede only reaches [[The Glasses Gotta Go|when she removes her glasses]] [[Beautiful All Along|and undoes her hair]].

* ''[[Tsukihime]]'': Ciel, though she probably has better eyesight than most.

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* ''[[Chalk Zone]]'': Penny Sanchez.

* ''[[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.

* ''[[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.

** For her - in that they keep male attention off her. This is such a truism to the character that on the show's Wiki, [http://www.dariawiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Manstopper_glasses there's an entry that defines her eyewear as ''manstopper glasses''.]

*** [[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.

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* ''[[Pepper Ann]]'': The title character.

* ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'': Gretchen.

** In the episode "She's the Mayor," [[Asian Airhead|Stacy]] [[media:~~StacyGlasses_2068~~.jpg|puts on a pair of]] [[Purely Aesthetic Glasses]] and puts her hair up in a more adult hair style when she serves as Mayor-for-a-Day Candace's secretary. The Meganekko fans were [[Fetish Fuel|pleased]]. Male Example: Carl.

** In the episode "She's the Mayor," [[Asian Airhead|Stacy]] [[media:StacyGlasses 2068.jpg|puts on a pair of]] [[Purely Aesthetic Glasses]] and puts her hair up in a more adult hair style when she serves as Mayor-for-a-Day Candace's secretary. The Meganekko fans were [[Fetish Fuel|pleased]]. Male Example: Carl.

* ''[[The Real Ghostbusters]]'': Janine Melnitz. Also in ''[[Extreme Ghostbusters]]''.

* ''[[Recess]]'': Gretchen Grundler (As well as Miss Grotke)

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

** In ''[[Scooby Doo Mystery Inc]]'', this trope (as well as [[Nerds Are Sexy]]) goes into full effect as far as Velma is concerned.

* ''[[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.

* ''[[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.

* ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987]]'': Irma Langinstein.