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{{trope}}
[[File:Negima_c89_Negi_decks_a_giant_clean.jpg|link=Mahou Sensei Negima
In [[Real Life]], a person's size is [[Pint-Sized Powerhouse|not a foolproof indication of their strength]]. Besides the fact that the short and wiry guy might know kung fu, the size of muscles is also not necessarily proportionate to their efficiency. You can usually expect that pure mass does bring a certain advantage in terms of potential power ([[Square-Cube Law|to an extent]]), but it's not a set rule. Leading experts in Broscience theorize that different weight training styles, say bodybuilder vs Olympic weightlifter, cause hypertrophy of different muscle cell components, in this case intracellular fluid (sarcoplasm) vs contractile protein complexes (myofibrils). Multiple training programs exist to increase strength without bulking up, especially for martial artists, who want strength without the limitation of flexibility excessive muscle can create.
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== Anime & Manga ==
* ''[[
** This actually addressed as a plot point in the Cell Saga. Vegeta and Future Trunks had reached a certain ascended version of the basic Super Saiyan, but while it was an insane increase of power, [[Square-Cube Law|the sheer muscle mass slowed them down too much to actually land a blow on their opponent]].
** There's also very early on the contrast between Vegeta and Nappa. Nappa, who's huge and brawny, is less than half as strong as the short Vegeta.
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*** Videl is actually one of the straightest examples of this, as even before she learned basic ki manipulation she was at least as strong as her father Mr. Satan, despite being a slender teenage girl with none of his huge muscles. As for why Gohan doesn't accidentally snap her in half, it's probably for the same reason real-life weightlifting champions can pet a kitten or pick up an egg without crushing it. Controlling your strength to use only the amount you want to for the task at hand is not difficult.
** The DBZ characters are, however, very muscular for the most part. It turns out that anything that boosts your ki energy will probably also build muscle mass. Really, once you start blowing up planets with mystical ki energy, physics can go out the window and nobody will care.
* The complete dependency on Shinsoo in ''[[
** Yuri and her clan, the Ha, is also a traditional case of being [[Charles Atlas Superpower|physically very strong]] while having a fairly feminine frame. Other characters, especially the damage dealing Fishermen can strengthen their body temporarily while inducing Shinsoo into their body.
* The CP9 of ''[[
** Luffy's small arms are justified since he is made of rubber. Zoro, on the other hand, is just plain crazy. When he flexes, his arms become the size of his torso. When relaxed they are normal size. On the other hand, Sanji's kicks can smash down buildings but he's pretty consistently a bean pole.
** The same also applies to the admirals, Kizaru being the most prominent example; they are among the most powerful of antagonists, but all three [[Lean and Mean|are very thin for their height.]]
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** Also, Robin is a tall, slight woman with the strength of an above-average athlete, which is pretty weak compared to some of the monsters of the series. However, she easily makes up for it with her Devil Fruit ability, which allows her to ''break your back'' effortlessly.
{{quote| '''Robin''': Power. Speed. Against me, they mean nothing.}}
* ''[[
** In another sense, as various characters get stronger they don't gain much in physical size; they retain the same basic body style that they start the show with.
* ''[[
* In ''[[
** Natsuki Takaya (the artist) actually acknowledges this in an aside from the manga: by all rights, the characters should be more muscular-looking than they are, and it's mainly a design preference that they're not (skinny bishounen and cute girls). In addition, Kagura likely derives her inhuman strength from [[Rule of Funny|somewhere else]].
* In ''[[
** In fact, this trope can be seen many times through out Bleach. This is due to the fact that characters in Bleach use spiritual energy to fight. A character may literally be a Giant, yet may be easily defeated due to their low spiritual pressure. This can be illustrated by Hollows. Gillian Class Hollows are giants, yet are the weakest class of menos. Subsequent classes are more compact, but much more powerful.
** This also extends to the spiritual. Captain-class shinigami compact their zanpaktos, and while they look small (compared to Grand Fisher's), they are more powerful.
** Most obviously present in tiny 11th Vice-Captain [[Killer Rabbit|Yachiru]], the only shinigami that ''might'' be more terrifying than [[Blood Knight|Kenpachi]]. She's also able to lift Kenpachi over her head and carry him as if he were an empty cardboard box, despite the fact that he's twice her height and six times her weight.
** Nnoitra is very skinny, but is clearly much stronger than Grimmjow, and can go toe-to-toe against Kenpachi.
* This is all over the place in the [[Tournament Arc]] of ''[[
* Present in ''[[
** A specific case of this is Nuriko, whose power is super strength, yet {{spoiler|he's skinny enough to convincingly crossdress as a woman.}}
* Kyohei and Sunako from ''[[
* L from ''[[
* ''[[
* [[
** His brother Sesshomaru counts as well. The ''very first thing'' we see Sesh pull in the manga is placing his hand lightly on a big, muscular man's head... and ripping it clean off without even a hint of effort. He's not any ''less'' muscular than Inuyasha (both of them do have some muscle tone, which is more than can be said of many [[Bishonen]]), but he isn't any ''more'' so, either.
** [[Word of God]] states that Sesshoumaru's ''arm strength alone'' is about as strong as Inuyasha in full demon mode. We're talking about all the strength in a single arm here.
* Somewhat averted, somewhat played with in ''[[
** This fellow from Yahoo.com answers the same question: [http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080810074055AAUhO8Y "Why is it that most male anime characters are dead skinny yet amazingly strong?"]
** Sakura and Tsunade's hard hitting explicitly ''doesn't'' have anything to do with muscles, as it's actually them [[Ki Attacks|gathering chakra into their fists and blasting it all out on impact]]. Most of their actual physical ability involves heightened agility to [[Deadly Dodging|avoid getting hit]]. When it comes to raw physical strength, the strongest tend to be pretty big guys ([[Stout Strength|Choji and his father]], [[Giant Mook|Jirobo]], [[Gentle Giant|Jugo]], [[Large and In Charge|the Raikage]]) or use some form of body modification ([[Powered
*** However, in one of the first filler episodes Sakura ''rips up a ship's mast and uses it to beat the bad guys off the vessel.'' This is before she began her training with Tsunade, you understand. It was a big ship.
** Naruto himself at one point puts on display a good example of this trope when he {{spoiler|bodyslams ''the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox''! Bear in mind that this fox is large enough that it can smash a mountain by swinging one of its tails.}}
* ''[[Kenichi:
** Akisame is only the smallest and skinniest if you somehow COMPLETELY ignored [[Dirty Old Man|Kensei Ma]], who's a much truer example of this trope. The man is probably barely 4 feet and is the eldest of the masters (barring the [[Old Master]] Hayato himself), making him very scrawny. He seems to be of the [[Weak but Skilled]] category, but he's capable of delivering devastating punches at close range, with apparently barely any technique involved.
** Kenichi isn't really an example. He's the average high school student height, but [http://somemanga.com/manga/Historys_Strongest_Disciple_Kenichi/380/ he's hardly skinny looking].
* Of course, ''[[
* ''[[
* Who's the strongest character in ''[[
** It's stated in the anime that Simon is better that Shizuo in a one on one fight. He's the only one who can stop Shizuo's rampages, albeit with some trouble; he does it and comes out with some bruises and a black eye. Shizuo is stated to be better in a street fight however, due to an advantage in speed and his nigh invulnerability.
*** His body is THAT awesome because he literally broke every single bone in his body multiple times in his youth, due to the super strength and [[Hair-Trigger Temper]]. After breaking so many times, his bones won't break anymore. On top of that, his pain receptors broke down from overburdening, and he feels no pain. {{spoiler|In one of the last episodes, he got shot in the back and in the hip from behind, and thought he slipped in the mud. When he realized what happened, he got up and walked halfway across Ikebukuro to Shinra's house to have the bullets removed.}}
* ''[[
** On the subject of Gym Leaders, Chuck and Bruno are on the big end, the former knowing a vast array of martial arts and takes up the same Fighting Gym Leader habit of training with his Pokémon. In case you think he sucks as a teacher, one of his disciples is Green, who while not demonstrating his talents in martial arts on-panel is hardly a slouch at commanding Pokémon. And if Brawly wasn't "scrawny" enough, then Maylene of Sinnoh manages to ''top'' that, being a skinny teenaged Pettanko who can cross blows with a Riolu - which, as we know, grows into Lucario, which is (literally) [[Made of Iron]]. This troper sees ''bad things'' happening to Team Galactic should she have to get involved.
** Many of the Dex Holders themselves manage to perform feats of physical excellence, but the majority of them are a result of being drunk on [[Heroic Resolve]]. And then there's Sapphire, whose feats of strength and heroism [[Cute Bruiser|speak]] [[Badass Normal|for]] [[Wild Child|themselves]].
*** Hell, even Blue may be stronger than she appears. At age 11, she once held onto her flying Jigglypuff with one hand while the other arm was hoisting up Red.
* Hareta from ''[[
* In ''[[
* The strongest characters in ''[[Aiki (Manga)|Aiki]]'' are pretty muscular... but only on the middle of the size scale. The strongest ''women'' barely have any. The trope itself is invoked when Joukyuu informs [[Hot Amazon]] Hou Mei of why she's doing badly in a fight against an opponent who's much smaller - she's too muscular and it's slowing her down. She leaves for a time to train, returning noticeably slimmer and much faster.
* Played straight twice in ''[[
* The mages in the ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' universe are extremely strong physically, but it doesn't show much in their physique. In the beginning of season two, the nine-year old Nanoha protected herself from attacks from both sides, holding the shields apart with her bare hands in a [[Star Wars]]-like double-[[Advancing Wall of Doom]] manner. Both attacks had the momentum to blow a hole in an average building and eventually made Nanoha ''sink ankle-deep into the concrete floor''. And that's a nine-year old girl with no excessive muscle mass. [[Lightning Bruiser|Powerhouses]] like [[Lady of War|Signum]] could probably punch holes in reinforced concrete with just those sleek, sexy hands of theirs. (This probably has to do with the series' target demographic, which prefers cute girls to muscular warriors.)
* ''[[
* ''[[
** Justified: she's the daughter of Superman and Wonder Woman. No, really.
* ''[[
* ''[[
** Averted with Seijuro Hiko, Kenshin's master, who seems a tall and slender man... until he takes off his coat, revealing a huge muscled body. [[Word of God]] says that some fangirls were disappointed at him not being a Bishounen.
* In ''[[Ranma ½
* Averted humorously in ''[[Ghost in
** The joke here being that the Major doesn't need more strength when she has her far more effective brain.
* Pretty much all [[Magical Girl Warrior]] anime, from ''[[
* In ''[[
* ''[[
* In ''[[
* Just about every single [[Shoujo Demographic]] that involves action, including the male characters and even in series that don't have the supernatural excuse. You can be a pretty boy and still have a good amount of muscle but not in shoujo.
* In ''[[
* Ivica Tanović, the commander of the Pied Piper Team in ''[[
== Comic Books ==
* Extremely common in superhero comics, for [[Super Strength|obvious reasons]]. By way of an example, [[Batman]] is a large and powerfully built man. [[Wonder Woman]] is a slim and athletic woman ([[Depending
** [[Batgirl (Comic Book)|Batgirl]] is noted in the comics as being far stronger (and faster) than even a highly athletic girl her size should be. This is mostly down to her [[My Kung Fu Is Stronger Than Yours|training]].
** Averted with some super-strong heroines; [[She Hulk]] and [[Power Girl]] (to name two) are typically drawn [[Amazonian Beauty|with a body-builder's level of muscularity]], being among the rare believers in the idea that just because you already have super-strength doesn't mean you can't benefit from pumping some iron to get even stronger.
*** But much like Wonder Woman, it depends on the artist. There are times [[She Hulk]] is drawn without muscles.
** So common in fact that when [[Supergirl|Kara Zor-El]] returned in 2004, writers were easily able to tease the fan base with the idea that the slender 16 year old girl might be stronger than her full grown powerfully built cousin Superman. Turns out, he just holds himself back [[World of Cardboard Speech|due to living his whole life in a world made of cardboard.]]
* [[X-Men
* ''[[
* ''[[Spider-Man]]'' possesses incredible strength but also possesses a thin physique that earned him the nickname "Puny Parker".
== Fan Works ==
* Paul in ''[[
** John qualifies when he's wearing his illusion cloak, which makes him look like his normal skinny Earth self.
== Film ==
* ''[[
* Justified in ''[[
{{quote| '''Morpheus:''' Do you believe that my being stronger or faster has anything to do with my muscles in this place?<br />
'''Neo:''' No.<br />
'''Morpheus:''' You think that's air you're breathing right now?<br />
'''Neo:'''...! }}
* The second [[Transformers (
* [[Sherlock Holmes (
** Doesn't work quite so well with the big French guy, who wipes the floor with Sherlock. It takes two to bring him down.
* In ''[[
* In ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (
* In ''[[
== Literature ==
* [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded]] and [[Subverted Trope]] in Robert Asprin's [[Myth Adventures]] - Guido is getting the "size doesn't matter in a fight" lecture from a drill sergeant, and muses that this only works if the little guy is very skillfull while the big guy is very UN-skillful. He then proceeds to break the arm of the drill instructor, who had been planning to use him as a tackle dummy.
* In ''[http://qntm.org/?power Power of Two]'' (part of the "Fine Structure" series at [[
* Justified in ''[[
* [[Sherlock Holmes]] is tall and wiry, but he is also extremely strong. After a burly man threatens him in "The Speckled Band" by bending an iron poker, Holmes casually straightens it.
* Ditto [[
* ''[[Redwall]]'': [[Continuity Drift]] makes it hard to tell whether the animal characters are supposed to be human-sized, animal-sized, or somewhere in between, but it's pretty clear that animals which are smaller in the real world tend to be at least a ''little'' smaller within the canon than animals which are larger in the real world. It seems to be a rule that the [[What Measure Is a Non-Cute?|small cute animals]] are the good guys and therefore more likely to win in any given fight. Mice versus rats is okay, but when a squirrel can fight a wolverine to a standstill it looks a tad odd.
** The size difference between animals appears to have decreased between books. The original had Cluny vs. Matthias and Cluny was far larger, and Constance was even bigger than he was, indicating a roughly accurate size difference that continued through the early books. About halfway through the series or so the difference seems to have changed from a normal person fighting a T. Rex to a smallish person fighting a tiger or something. Actual physical strength doesn't appear to be different except in extreme cases like badgers etc.
* Elves and Riders in the ''[[Inheritance Trilogy]]'' are often capable of feats of strength (and speed and magic too) beyond that of most humans, including humans with way bigger muscles. Eragon himself notes this in Brisingr by comparing his muscles to his cousin Roran's much larger muscles.
* ''[[
* This trope is also used in the ''[[Dragaera]]'' novels. Dragaerans, while admittedly averaging about a foot taller than normal humans (or "Easterners", as they call them--they refer to themselves as "human"), tend to be much slimmer and trimmer as well. The only real exceptions are a few members of certain houses, like the Orca. Nevertheless, Dragaerans are quite a bit stronger than Easterners across the board.
* First played straight in ''Graceling'', as Katsa's extreme talent, flexibility, and speed make her too [[Badass]] for strength to matter much, but subverted once she meets another Graced fighter ({{spoiler|though of course Po's Grace is a bit more complex than that}}) and realizes her size and relative weakness do disadvantage her.
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== Live Action TV ==
* ''[[
** Vampires in this series are like that as well.
** Considering that the super strength of both Slayers and demons is mystically endowed size doesn't matter at all. The strength is clearly not in the muscles.
** Also true of Connor in the spin-off ''[[
* Discussed in ''[[
* Niki/Jessica Sanders, Knox, and now Mohinder on ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]''.
** There was also the soldier who was injected with the [[Super Serum]].
* Elliot from ''[[
{{quote| '''J.D. (thinking)''': "Oh no! Elliot has the pinky-strength of a rock-climbing jazz pianist!"}}
** She is also shown to have absurdly strong thighs, to the point that she can break lunch trays with them.
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* ''[[Star Trek]]'': Vulcans (and their kin, the Romulans and the Remans) are twice as strong as humans - Spock has effortlessly wiped the floor with Kirk at least two times in the series. And [[Star Trek TNG|Data]] is an android with the strength of 10 men.
** Data's strength is shown when a Klingon tries to challenge him in their version of arm-wrestling (B'aht Qul). Data effortlessly beats him, at which point the angry Klingon tries to headbutt the android. Data simply points out that his skull is made out of the same stuff they make starship hulls.
* In ''[[
* X-5 series transgenic supersoldiers in ''[[Dark Angel]]''. While Zack is fairly bulky, Max and Alec have roughly the same level of enhanced physical prowess.
* In ''[[Chuck]]'', a new version of the Intersect computer can upload martial arts skills into a user's brain, giving guys with [[Geek Physiques]] the ability to beat up trained soldiers without any change in muscle size.
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== Video Games ==
* In ''[[
* This can be seen in MMORPGs as well. Since character appearances are purely aesthetic, a large muscular character could be defeated with ease by a smaller character.
** Extremely apparent in ''[[
** Create a male draenei or orc mage in '' [[
*** Or a gnome, who in many cases will be swinging weapons larger than him/her self, and is just as capable as a tauren of tearing you to shreds.
** Not just MMO's, any game with a customizable [[Statistically Speaking|strength stat]] is susceptible to this because often the character model doesn't match the stats. Case in point, in ''[[
*** Try attacking a Behemoth with a levelled up Yuna doing 99999 damage. The wimpy sound she makes as she swings her staff just makes it that much stranger.
* [[Super Mario Bros.|Mario]] as well; he can do things like lift Bowser by the tail, spin him around swiftly and throw him across an arena [[Shaped Like Itself|with just his arms]] in ''[[
* In the third ''[[
* In a word, ''[[
** Or blow up planets...
* ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]''' Sora, like most [[Kid Hero|Kid Heroes]], is short and has skinny stick limbs, their twiggyness only emphasized by his clothes and big shoes--yet he regularly beats the tar out of adult men and [[Mooks]] several times his size. For a villainous example, NPC Axel, especially the [[Bonus Boss]] version, should not be able to deal the damage he does with a frame like his.
** Same thing that applies to Axel, goes with Larxene.
*** This is lampshaded early on in the first game, with Maleficent openly stating that "the boy's strength is not his own". It's implied that a combination of the Keyblade's magic and [[The Power of Friendship]] is what allows him to kick so much ass.
* Pick ''any'' [[One-Hit-Point Wonder]] [[Nintendo Hard]] 80s/early 90s game where you play a bare-chested, supermuscloid juggernaut. (''Karnov'', ''[[
* Link from ''[[The Legend of Zelda]]'' is generally on the small side and, even as an adult, doesn't get much bulkier than "wiry [[Bishounen]]" (and, if you're willing to go outside canon and take ''[[Soul Series|SoulCalibur II]]'' as a visual reference, barely grazes even ''five feet''). He also generally lacks any super powers beyond an [[Determinator|absurd level of courage]] and maybe a few acquired spells. So how is it that the guy can fight toe-to-toe with the [[Large and In Charge|hulking]] [[Big Bad]] or spontaneously perform backflips while wearing ''chainmail''? And that doesn't even get into the time he out-Sumo Wrestled a ''giant rock creature'' because he was wearing heavy boots.
** Although ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
** To be fair, in ''Ocarina of Time'' Adult Link is a larger guy than most of the population.
** In ''Wind Waker'' Link was about 4 feet tall, one of the smallest characters in the game. Ganon was almost thrice Link's height!
** This part of the series is so odd that even Miyamoto commented on it as peculiar. Of course in many cases it's justified by his possession of a strength-enhancing magical accouterment (in the last two set-top games, you get some in the first dungeon). To give an idea of how powerful these can make Link, by the end of ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
* Dante of ''[[
** All of his feats and strength are easily explained by the fact that he's supernatural. Despite being a bishonen though, he is actually of above average build (the degree varies from game to game).
** He's not only supernatural but also magical as well. He can after all create a footing in thin air, why not enhance strength with magic?
* Little Mac from ''[[
* The original ''[[Mega Man (
* Saber from ''[[Fate/stay
* Kinda averted in [[
* Played with in ''[[Prototype (
* Makoto Nanaya of ''[[
* ''[[
** The sniper rifle in question, the [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|M-98 Widow]], is an ''anti-tank rifle''<ref>"The Widow was never designed to be carried and fired by a human. Although this modified model can be carried, no ordinary human could fire it without shattering an arm."</ref>.
* One of the augmentations the Spartans received in the ''[[Halo (
* While not as scrawny as some of the other video game characters listed, in ''[[
* Cloud from ''[[
** If Cloud doesn't count because of all his mako enhancements, then Tifa most definitely does. She looks like a waif, but she can keep pace with Jenova-enhanced [[Super Soldier|Super Soldiers]], and unlike Cloud, she has [[Badass Normal|nothing going for her but]] [[Bare-Fisted Monk|her martial arts training.]]
* Similarly, Fenris of ''[[
* In ''[[Saints Row:
* As the result of an [[Emergency Transformation]] gone wrong, Gauldoth from ''[[
== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Bun-Bun from ''[[
* ''[[The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob]].'' Molly's alien pet Snookums is about the size of a basketball, but began as a [[Kaiju|giant monster]] before getting [[Incredible Shrinking Man|shrunk.]] He retains all his original mass, so the ground shakes when he hops around, and he can defeat much larger opponents simply by hopping into them.
* [http://adventurers.keenspot.com/d/20020114.html Discussed] in ''[[
== Web Original ==
* In evidence in ''[[Tales of MU]]'', where many characters' strength comes from magic. The protagonist Mackenzie Blaise is among the stronger characters, but appears to be an underdeveloped eighteen-year-old girl. [[Psycho Lesbian|Puddy]] is more muscular in appearance, but not enough to account for the fact that she's sometimes stronger than a dragon.
* In the web fiction [[
== Western Animation ==
* ''[[
* Disney's [[Hercules (Disney film)|Hercules]], especially in the beginning of the toon. Initially he is quite small and thin but superstrong no matter what.
* Bamm-Bamm as an infant on ''[[The Flintstones]]''. [[The Pebbles and Bamm
* Ed, Sarah, and Rolf from ''[[Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy
* [[The Life and Times of Juniper Lee|Juniper Lee]] displays remarkable super strength compared to her appearance. Justified in that she's the [[The Chosen One|Te Xuan Ze]] and her super strength is magical.
* Stewie Griffin of ''[[
* June from ''[[Ka Blam!
* In ''[[
* [[
* [[
* On ''[[
* In ''[[
|