tomboys in anime
 

hey everyone,
i'm Joe.I'd like to understand my fellow anime fans.as you know i'm
currently working
on my superhero story and my super-heroine is something of a tomboy.i know
there's alot of
tomboys in anime.so tell me,what do you think the current problem with tomboys
in anime?
what don't you like about them?what do you like? Go in as much detail as you
like, more the
better.
-Joe:)

For a start there isn't a problem with "tomboy" characters any more than there is a problem with "reluctant hero", "girly heroine", "goofy side kick", "wise old man", “small, cute yet unidentifiable creature”, "evil villain" etc- they are all standard characters in anime & manga.

If you need to explain why someone is a tomboy then that is a different question. Tomboys may be because a girl has grown up; without a female road model; with lots of friends who are boys; with lots of older brothers; hiding their identity due to trauma; who are gay (if you want to follow the strong\ girly lesbian role model); who exist in a tough environment ...... list goes on and on.

If I can give you some advice when writing a story, you need to ask one question over and over- what is this character’s motivation? And a lot of motivation will come from back story, so make sure you understand why someone is as they are, by thinking about how they have lived their life, otherwise you end up with shallow characters. “Flashback” is your best friend in this situation.

thanks cpu for being the first to relpy.i know there's nothing wrong with tom boys.i just need ideas how to make my super-heroine who is a tomboy better i don't know anything on how to work on super-heroines. but she's not gay the main super-hero in my story is her love interest.but i wanted her to be like-a-ble.and be tough as nails but cheerful.
-Joe:)

Take your ideas from other anime tomboys would be my best advice.

Well, as I said, find a reason she's a tomboy as just throwing tomboy in there as a character attribute will look stupid. Maybe she was brought up (alone) by her military Dad :rolleyes:

Or she and her smaller brother were orphans and she always had to act like a big brother? Or she grew up in a violent area where she always had to fight for her life..

I think CPU's idea is good. Being brought up by a military dad. Maybe he is a high ranking officer and wants her to be like him or maybe he wanted a boy but got her instead so he decided to treat her like a boy. Just think or take an idea and start expanding it.

thanks maku,yggdrazzil,bloodsinger,and cpu,
i really like yggdrazil's idea it kind of remind me of Orihime Inoue from bleach. so maku what anime tomboy would you recomment i look up?
-Joe:)

tomboy?
 

tomboy,in real life, i call them athletes.:mtongue:

I'm a tomboy. I grew up on a street with all guys, lucky me ;)

I was a tomboy. No real reason, I just liked playing with boys and rough housing than playing dress up and dolls as a kid. Dunno why. I just liked that type of stuff. Wasn't "gay" either. I just found hanging around boys more fun.

As for tomboys in anime/manga series, only four come to mind. Aino Minako from Codename wa Sailor V/Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, Takenouchi Sora from Digimon Adventure (in Adventure 02, the tomboyish side of her was easing up), Makino Ruki from Digimon Tamers, and Yamaguchi Kumiko from Gokusen.

Minako played a lot of sports, and her tomboyish nature shows more in the Sailor V manga than the SM manga or anime. Minako would climb, physically fight, was outspoken, etc. No idea why she was like that, although, I'd say it was just a part of her personality. She is a Libra after all, and it is said that the Libra is a male sign, or something like that. That could be why she portrayed Minako as a tomboy, even though she still had her girly ways (crushing on guys and all that).

As for Sora's character, she played sports as well. She played soccer, and, ironically, her character participated in her elementary school's all-boy soccer team. She seemed to act like she needed no help from anyone at times. It's like she was trying to prove to others that she's strong so as not to underestimate her. I was also under the impression that she disliked dresses or anything remotely "girly" so as not to be seen as weak, and I think she was like this because of her very traditional feminine mother (she ran a florist, did flower arranging, etc.) In other words, Sora's tomboyish nature can probably be attributed to rebellion towards her mother who seemed to want her to be more feminine. As she grew older, though, she became a bit more feminine, started wearing skirts/dresses more too outside of her school uniform, ditched the boyish sport of soccer and took up tennis.

As for Ruki's character, I feel she was the way that she was because of her model who seemed to value looks. She's a formal model (a young, single mother too). I felt she went out of her way to avoid being seen as "girly" or "weak". She seemed to go out of her way to avoid showing emotion too. So, in her case, it probably was a rebellious nature.

Kumiko's tough personality and tomboyish nature (she doesn't mind fighting) is definitely due to the fact that she was raised by her grandfather, who is part of the Yakuza (Japanese mafia). She's also next in line to run the Yakuza group that her grandfather is head of. No need to continue explaining this one. It's obvious why she's "tomboyish". lol