Plucky Girl: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

[[File:poyno on the waves 6705.jpg|link=Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea|frame|Running on pluck. Running on ''waves'' and pluck.]]

 

{{quote|"''Aren't you scared?''"

 

'Plucky' means brave and optimistic.

 

Male versions exist, but they tend to be closer to [[Determinator]] territory [[Double Standard|instead]].

{{examples}}

* This trope is a staple of [[Shoujo]] manga, specially [[Magical Girl]] shows. So the heroine is [[Book Dumb]], ultra naive, a [[Butt Monkey]] or is just starting with her mission and/or training in magic? The Powers of [[The Power of Love|Love]] and [[The Power of Friendship|Friendship]] will ultimately give her strength to keep on going!

* Candace White "Candy" Andree from ''[[Candy Candy]]''. She has her breakdowns, but as soon as she's back to her feet, she comes back stronger ''than ever''.

** Mai is this too, despite her bad luck in battles. More noticeable in the games, tho.

** And Kim's wife, [[Hot Mom]] Myenungsuk. In a subtle [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]], when Kim was in the receiving end of a [[Curb Stomp Battle]], she kept her cool and her trust in him, refusing to cry and break down for the sake of him and their kids as well as herself.

** Euphemia li Britannia and Shirley Fenette also count. {{spoiler|Doesn't work as well, though.}}

* Saori Kido aka Athena, Miho, Aquila Marin, Shunrei, Princess Flair and little Helen (the two last from [[Filler]] anime arcs) of ''[[Saint Seiya]]''.

** It is later revealed that she wasn't always like this: {{spoiler|after her mother's death, Madoka was a depressed wreck until her cousin inspired her into the energetic girl always ready to help everyone regardless of what needs to be doing}}. Truly, Madoka's motto in life is [[Jumped At the Call]]: she doesn't pilot because she ''has'' to, she pilots because she ''wants'' to help.

 

* ''[[Batman]]'': Stephanie Brown, the third [[Batgirl]]. Her ex-con of a father is starting to cause trouble again? Her mother's an addict? Her dad's trying to kill her? The father of her baby abandons her and she almost dies during delivery? The boy she's got her eyes on and who happens to be Robin's not interested in her? Batman tries to get her to quit being a crimefighter again and again - then fires her as Robin? She gets tortured, humiliated and almost killed and is forced to leave Gotham to heal? ... C'mon, you don't actually think that's gonna stop her, do you?

* Scrooge McDuck's most popular love interest, Glittering Goldie.

* ''[[X-Men (Comic Book)|X-Men]]'': Kitty Pryde, the [[Trope Codifier]] for comic books. Parents splitting up, new school, new freaky powers that somehow [[What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?|aren't quite as useful as the powers of your new classmates]], and a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|demon attack on your first Christmas there?]] Not a problem! [[It Got Worse|It Gets Worse?]] She gets over it.

 

 

* Giselle from ''[[Enchanted]]'' is this trope ''to the letter''. When faced with the wildlife of New York City - gnats, pigeons, and cockroaches - she forces herself to smile and admit [[Sincerity Mode|"Well, it's always nice to make new friends!"]]

* Many heroines in the Disney animated canon.

* [[Coraline (animation)|Coraline]], so much so.

* The girl Micha from a German film ''Stahlnetz: PSI''. She is kidnapped for ransom {{spoiler|which her family cannot pay as it's not actuall rich}} and cannot escape on her own, but she still holds herself with dignity until the very end, (though she slowly begins to resign, but in her situation, it's hard not to; and she ''still'' doesn't break).

* The title character of ''[[The Journey of Natty Gann]]'' is bound and determined to find her father, and nothing is going to keep her from doing it, no matter how many people tell her that he abandoned her. She hops trains and hitchhikes from Chicago to Seattle, with little idea of exactly where her father is beyond "somewhere in Washington".

 

* ''[[Tortall Universe]]'': Daine is probably the most obvious example. Her house was burned by raiders, her family killed and she survived only by accident, she was almost raped/murdered by an ex-suitor of her mother's, and was [[Raised by Wolves]]—all before the book starts. She then proceeds to demonstrate a great deal of ass-kicking, particularly so in the later books; in the third one, after she is told that the Emperor killed {{spoiler|Numair}}, she proceeds to {{spoiler|wake up an army of fossilized dinosaurs}} and rip the everloving shit out of the palace. She's not done. In the fourth book, after even more tragedy occurs, she kills {{spoiler|Ozorne}} with only a badger claw, naked, and entirely out of magic. Yeowch.

** Sandry, from the Circle of Magic universe by the same author, tends to come across as the sweet, optimistic one of the four, but she survived several days alone in a dark, concealed room, with only [[It Makes Sense in Context|a basket of embroidery thread for company]] while half the city died of plague around her, and when once again trappen in the dark (by an earthquake, no less) she is the one who figures out how to get herself and her friends out (though they all participate.)

* Don't forget the eponymous ''Momo'' in the novel of Michael Ende. The evil men actually take over the world, but she still attempts to save it. She even dares giving one of the grey men a [[Care Bear Stare]] while she's left by all her friends.

* Sarah Crewe from ''[[A Little Princess]]''.

** And also Rose Campbell from the ''Eight Cousins'' books.

* Ninevah "Nin" Redstone from ''Seven Sorcerers'' by Caro King. Her Motto is "Have Courage and never give up!" She confronts a Bogeyman while armed only with a toohbrush and goes insane lengths to rescue her brother, along with [[Chronic Hero Syndrome|everybody else needing help]]

 

* [[Cool Big Sis|Gail Emory]] of ''[[American Gothic]]'', [[Chickification|at least]] [[Damsel in Distress|in the first half of the series]]...

* Veronica Mars of ''[[Veronica Mars]]'', the unflappable young PI who is {{spoiler|roofied and date-raped, best friend is killed, family splits up,}} ostracized by her old friends, yet somehow trudges through and comes out mostly on top. And her relationships? {{spoiler|Suspected murderer of best friend, and also a man who could possibly be her biological brother (he's not).}} Well, let's just say she's incredibly determined.

* Any female ''[[Doctor Who]]'' companion, by definition. Any of The Doctor's companions turn into a Plucky Girl or Determinator if they've spent enough time with him, to the extent that he [[Lampshading|introduces]] Donna Noble as "the plucky young girl who helps me out" in one episode. Heck, he gets Doctor Malcolm from the episode ''Planet of the Dead'' into a Determinator willing to become a martyr to save The Doctor (and the bus full of people he's on). This isn't the first time he's an effect on people he barely knows, either. In fact, Davros lampshades this, rather darkly:

{{quote|'''Davros''': "You take ordinary people and you fashion them into weapons. Behold your Children of Time transformed into murderers. How many have died in your name?"}}

* Djaq from ''[[Robin Hood (TV series)|Robin Hood]]'' originates from the Holy Land which is being torn apart by war in which she lost her father, mother and twin brother. She was then enslaved and brought to England in chains, all the while hiding her gender from her jailers. When she's rescued by Robin Hood, her fellow prisoners abandon her while she's helping out the outlaws. Yet she joins the gang, contributing her skills as a scientist and a medic to the country that is at war with her own, overcoming race and gender prejudices, and proceeding to kick ass all over the place whilst keeping her rather wicked sense of humor, resulting in one of the few times in which a character with obvious [[Mary Sue]] qualities manages to be imminently likeable.

* Miki Momozono/Goggle Pink from ''[[Dai Sentai Goggle Five]]''. She gets hit massively with a fatal bomb that nearly killed her, yet she still dragged her body to get up so her friends and [[Kid Sidekick]] won't worry about her. Then she gets trapped in a devil diary, is tied up and the diary gets burned from the outside (which would burn her eventually), and her friends can't get her out, only able to watch as she burns. Instead, she ''[[Crowning Moment of Awesome|escapes from the book on her own using just her wits and brains]]'', delivers a condemning speech to those who trapped her (and dozens of innocent kids), then [[Badass in Distress|proceeds to kick ass]].

** Lampshaded in an episode set in modern time. [[Mad Scientist]] raids Xena and Gabrielle's tomb and clones them. Gabrielle is plucky, [[Mad Scientist]] turns her into a determinator. Fan complains, [[Mad Scientist]] says you will only ever see plucky Gabrielle in the repeats of Seasons 1-3 - "Only in the re-runs."

* Stephanie from ''[[LazyTown]]''. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKVNf6kuhv0 Case in point].

* Carmen Carrillo from ''[[Carrusel]]''. She may not have the best family situation at first (though ''[[It Gets Better]]''). But she always makes sure to study and do well in school, so that someday she can go to college and obtain a career. Plus she is always nice to everyone. She is very prim and proper- while always remaining determined, so her being ladylike and staying out of trouble may be a not so obvious way of remaining strong so that she can achieve her goals.

 

* Antigone from [[Greek Mythology]], who refuses to abandon her father Oedipus even [[Oedipus Complex|after learning]] [[Parental Incest|the truth]] [[Squick|of her birth]]. She also defies her uncle Creon when he orders to not give burial to her brother's corpse, and prefers execution rather than renouncing to her beliefs.

* Many Christian martyrologies have tales about young girls who choose torture and death rather than worshipping non-Christian Gods, and many of them are described as plucky to the extreme.

** For that matter, the Blessed Virgin Mary is this to Catholics, oh so very much.

 

* Arguably deconstructed in [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s ''Mother Courage And Her Children''. The main female's pluckiness, perseverance and resourcefulness were supposed to show how ''dehumanized'' Mother Courage had become thanks to her sucky life (the deaths of her children included), as a detestable personification of the evils of capitalism. [[Misaimed Fandom|The audience embraced her instead.]]

 

* Chell from ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]''. She never, ever gives up. It's official. It's on her record!

* Asuka Kazama from ''[[Tekken]]''.

* [[Rebellious Princess|Alena]] from ''[[Dragon Quest IV]]''.

* The female protagonist route added to ''[[Persona 3]]'' in the PSP version turns the player character into a Plucky Girl. The darker the game's plot gets, the more determinedly upbeat her dialogue options become.

** And beating them all out is Maya from ''[[Persona 2]]'' who's catchphrase is "Let's think postitive!" She remains upbeat throughout the game, serves as a [[Team Mom]] for the group, and gets promoted to Protagonist in ''Eternal Punishment''.

* Amy Rose of the ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' series often has shades of this.

* [[Street Fighter|Chun Li]]. Oh my, Chun Li. The first [[Action Girl]] in fighting game history simply can't be less. Followed by Cammy, Rainbow Mika, Sakura, Karin, Elena, Ibuki, Maki, Makoto, Rose...

** In regards to non-fighting female charas, Yun's [[Hot-Blooded]] "non-girlfriend" Houmei is this; considering how calm she is when around her, her little sister Shaomei might count too. Eliza Masters can be considered to be an [[Older and Wiser]] version: we don't see a lot of her but she's almost always smiling and patient, and the mere fact that she's [[Happily Married]] to [[Duty First, Love Second|a dude who's very often fighting out there]] implies that she's got quite the patience.

 

* Mary in ''[[Shikkoku no Sharnoth]]''. The minigame is even based off of it: If her mental state falls too far, you lose.

* Emi Ibarazaki from ''[[Katawa Shoujo]]'', a young woman who lost her legs {{spoiler|and her father}} in an horrifying accident, but around a year later she had already relearned to walk, and is the star of Yamaku High's track team. {{spoiler|Once you pursue her route, though, it's a [[Deconstructed Trope]]. Emi knows that loss of a relationship is normal, and it is best to be strong and move on. However, at the same time, the same stubbornness that enables her to deal with her issues prevents Emi from growing close to anyone because she is afraid that the pain of loss will prevent her from moving onto the future. This prevents anyone from helping her.}}

 

== [[Web Comics]] ==

{{quote|''She did know. She was not in the least afraid. She was depending on a rattlesnake to live up to his share of the contract and rattle in time for her to move. The one characteristic an Irishman admires in a woman, above all others, is courage. Freckles worshiped anew. ''}}

 

* ''[[Princess Sissi]]'', the plucky [[Country Mouse|farm girl]] who deals with danger and tribulation after tribulation to get married to her sweetheart, Prince Franz, all the while believing that she can bring peace to Austria and Hungary and [[Chronic Hero Syndrome|helping who she can on the way.]]

* All four Chan daughters in ''[[The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan]]'', but Anne and Nancy in particular.

* Penny Gadget of ''[[Inspector Gadget]]''.

** Granny Smith was this as a filly as well.

** Pinkie Pie sometimes takes up the role too.