Tropes Media Browse Indexes Forums Videos Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Tools
Cut List New Edits Edit Reasons Launches Images List Crowner Activity Un-typed Pages Recent Page Type Changes Changelog
Tips
Creating New Redirects Cross Wicking Tips for Editing Text Formatting Rules Glossary Edit Reasons Handling Spoilers Word Cruft Administrivia FAQ
Tropes HQ
About Us Contact Us Advertise DMCA Notice Privacy Policy Report Bug
Go Ad-Free Changelog
  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Highlight Links
 

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Genki Girl

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_a4eazumanga_daioh_01_1281.png
Yukari's here already!? I AM SO TOTALLY LATE! HOLY-FREAKING-CRAP!

"Your presence itself is like shouting."
— Yomi [to Tomo, pictured at right], Azumanga Daioh

"Genki" is Japanese for "energetic" or "enthusiastic."

The Genki Girl is a character – usually a schoolgirl, but not always – possessed of an over-abundance of energy, such that she runs everywhere (often with her arms waving wildly or outstretched like airplane wings), speaks quickly (sometimes unintelligibly so) and/or loudly, and always does everything fast, fast, fast! She's filled with confidence and determination, regardless of whether she's competent or not. Although usually played exclusively for comedy, sometimes the Genki Girl slows down for a serious or introspective moment. But not for long — she lives her life full-throttle. To sum it up, a good way of telling whether a female character is genki or not is to see if her family and peers are exhausted, astonished, or even creeped out by her chronic outbursts of vitality. (A female character is by far the more common version, but this trope is not limited to females.)

Despite what you'd think, the Genki Girl is usually not The Ditz. However, there have been a few blends. She is very often a Motor Mouth or a Nicknamer. Less sympathetic portrayals often make her the Jerkass of the group (though these are relatively rare). Villainous portrayals are often the Perky Female Minion type. Alternatively, she could be both. Some are even the resident Cloudcuckoolander.

The Manic Pixie Dream Girl is a version of the Genki Girl who wants to introduce someone, such as her friend or beloved, to how to enjoy life. This version of Genki Girl will liven up your life whether you like it or not. A Manic Pixie Dream Girl uses her energy and love of life to help another character achieve the meaning of happiness.

If this is an RPG setting, she's almost always going to be the Fragile Speedster, thus fitting her personality.

If a work of fiction gives its characters symbolic flowers that represent their personalities, the Genki Girl will likely get the sunflower while her animal is the dog, though her energy won't necessarily make her go crazy.

Whatever you do, don't give her too much coffee, cola, or sugar, and definitely teach her that hard drugs are very bad. This is why she may be paired with somebody who is practical.

Voice actors sometimes become famous for just being able to keep up the role.

Compare Fist Pump and Hot-Blooded. Compare The Pollyanna for endless optimism and cheer rather than energy. Contrast Emotionless Girl.

See Keet for the childish male version of this trope.

Often seen performing The Glomp.

Example Subpages:

Other Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Asian Animation 
  • The eponymous character of Akis is quite the excitable girl, constantly pestering her family and friends with her antics and being unable to sit still a lot of the time.

    Comic Books 

    Comic Strips 

    Commercials 

    Fan Works 
  • The Child of Love: According Takuma -a character shows up in the sequel-, Rei was very cheerful, vivacious, and nosy when she was a little child. He is actually shocked when he meets her again and notices she is now quiet and emotionless.
  • Evangelion 303: Before the beginning of this story, Rei Ayanami was incredibly cheerful, energetic, and sunny the whole time, but an accident rendered her emotionless.
  • Male example in Hetalia: Axis Powers fanfic Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità: Italy is basically the very definition of this trope. Germany and Japan are very fond of him because of his warmth and kindness.
  • HERZ: Kurumi is incredibly energetic and enthusiastic. She is constantly trying to glomp Shinji despite him avoiding her the whole time.
  • Loud Boy: Altered: Violet Fitz is an energetic and optimistic child.
  • In The Loud House fanfic Mall Rats, there's, as well as the canonical Leni, a woman named Jolene who's "vibrant and energetic", which is part of the reason Lincoln has a crush on her.
  • Drama Heart in Manehattan's Lone Guardian shows shades of this when she learns that her little sister is pregnant: she freaks out, squeals "I'm gonna be an aunt!" repeatedly, tackles Leviathan out of sheer excitement, and bolts for the train station as soon as her suitcase is packed.
  • Flippant, enthusiastic, and constantly wearing a toothy grin on her face, Luu-Luu from The Night Unfurls is the hyper one among the Seven Shields. These traits are lost once she gets subjected to Face Full of Alien Wing-Wong thanks to Shamuhaza, remaining a husk of her former self. Ooof.
  • Oscar from Olive's Last Partner is a downplayed version of this. His brain is described as "a laser-shooting squirrel swimming in coffee inside a disco ball, quantity cubed", but all of the genki he has is solely in his overactive imagination and he's a Genius Ditz on the outside without the energy or the hyperactivity. Otto actually outpaces him in genki by at least a couple miles, if not more.
  • A Pikachu in Love gives us Pichi, a rather hyperactive Pikachu who, if not for her much nicer disposition and lack of reality-warping powers, could be mistaken for the Pikachu equivalent of Haruhi. Gets deconstructed later on when her wacky and carefree antics nearly get Pikachu killed by an Ursaring and cause her to suffer a Heroic BSoD due to feeling like it's all her fault. She gets over it a little as the fic goes on, but is noticeably a lot less carefree and perky for the rest of the fic.
  • In Pokémpanions Plusle is very energetic and cheerful.
  • Yolanda Hall is by far one of the most excitable and happy go lucky staff members of the titular park in both Prehistoric Earth and its subsequent Continuity Reboot Prehistoric Park Reimagined. To put it simply, the number of times per day in which she's not walking at a brisk pace, enthusiastically doing her work or interacting with other staff members, or just plain enjoying life in general is usually always below ten.
  • Sister Floriana: the titular character is all over this trope, especially in the original drawings.
  • Some Semblance of Meaning has the District Twelve tributes' escort/makeshift mentor, Lavinia Gilden (also known as Tansy Leefinch), who is highly energetic and bubbly...although this lessens later on as Vale and Kit go into The Hunger Games and Lavinia has to watch them suffer in the arena.
  • While Fu the Nanabi jinchuriki in Naruto displayed some traits of this, in Son of the Sannin she gets to show it much more (helped by the fact that she's an Ascended Extra and Spared by the Adaptation). She's an energetic girl who's always eager to make new friends and have fun, with a penchant for trolling people by pretending she's a lot dumber than she actually is.
  • In The Sword in the Stone fanworks where the girl squirrel becomes a human, she usually retains her squirrel level of hyperactivity.
  • The Tenn Duology:
    • Sigma, except for extreme circumstances, is always happy and highly energetic.
    • Tenn turns into this over having her own Megadoomer, becoming highly excited about using it, to the point of uncharacteristically bad decision making.
  • Trans Ponies: Sketchpad is a loud, excitable stallion who's compared to Pinkie Pie.
  • Unbreakable Red Silken Thread: Eventually becomes Zoey's defining trait out of the group. Always cheerful and upbeat, she also happens to be a former fan of the Total Drama series.
  • Taylor from Wonderful (Mazinja) is an enthusiastic motor-mouth who can't stand still.
  • In The Zero Context Series, Callista dives headlong into this category whenever she's on a shopping trip. She uses raw enthusiasm, energy, and volume alongside her fame as a PFL combatant to sway mall personnel into giving her what she wants. Bahija sees it as reality warping around her to fit her bargain-hunting desires, and it's implied she only gets away with her actions because Zapana foots the bills after she leaves.

    Films — Animated 
  • Faline from Bambi. A wild, giggly fawn that completely flips out from a simple, soft "Hello" from Bambi.
  • Big Hero 6:
    • Cass Hamada is a rare adult type, but she is always excited and happy.
    • Honey Lemon shifts into genki mode whenever she's doing anything chemistry-related.
  • Kiina's portrayal in BIONICLE: The Legend Reborn qualifies her as one. It's in stark contrast with how sour she behaved in the novel that takes place before the movie's events—however, the movie was written first. It was also the only time we saw this side of her, but it had already stained her image in the fans' minds.
  • Despicable Me:
    • Agnes is a cheerful Cloudcuckoolander. The first time Gru meets the girls, Agnes is the one only excited and she starts happily hugging his leg.
    • Lucy Wilde in the sequel. Although initially introduced as a serious and stoic woman, she is generally very happy, enthusiastic, cheerful, and perky, shown when she exclaims, "Yay!" after telling Gru she is his new partner.
  • Dory from Finding Nemo. Her perkiness and high energy buoy all her friends in rough times, or just annoy them.
  • Princess Anna from Frozen is extremely hyperactive and impulsive to the point of being dangerously reckless, even at the age of five. Being all alone in a castle with nothing to do and no one to talk to for 13 years has only exacerbated this, to the point where her second "I Want" Song is damn near exhausting to watch.
  • Joy from Inside Out is this, being the very embodiment of happiness and energy. Even the way she moves around is very flighty and energetic, full of prancing, twirling, and dancing.
  • Unikitty from The LEGO Movie is a cat-unicorn hybrid who's full of energy and always cheerful. Barely a minute into her introduction though, we get to see what's beneath the mask.
    Unikitty: Any idea is a good idea, except the not-happy ones! Those get pushed down deep inside til you'll never, ever, ever, EVER, fiiiind theeeem~
  • The Little Mermaid has Ariel, who frustrates her father with how energetic and adventurous she is.
  • Boo from Monsters, Inc. has enough energy to run around the Monsters, Inc. building without breaking a sweat. Justified, she is only about two years old.
  • Charlotte from The Princess and the Frog is a Genki Girl that seems to move entirely too fast for her brain to catch up.
  • Smurfblossom from Smurfs: The Lost Village out of the female smurfs from the lost village she's the most hyperactive, giddy, and excitable, she's very curious, always asks loads of questions, and thinks words relating to males are funny since she's never heard of them before.
  • Peni Parker from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is always energetic, optimistic and happy-go-lucky. She also loves candy and manga.
  • Tulip from Storks, who's nearly always happy and energetic.
  • The Sword in the Stone:
    • The squirrel that pines over Arthur after he becomes a squirrel himself is incredibly lively. It makes it all the more crushing when Arthur returns to normal and her heart is crushed.
    • The magnificently, marvelously mad Madam Mim is an older—and much eviler—example than normal, but almost every second she's onscreen, Mim is bursting with energy. Barely a moment goes by where she's not bouncing off the walls with wicked zest with the energy of a woman much, much younger than her. She's a rarity among Disney villains for this trait, but it makes her all the more enjoyable.
  • Tangled: Rapunzel is pretty lively. Her never having been outside before only makes her more excitable.
  • Toy Story:
    • Jessie from Toy Story 2 and 3. What we see of her Show Within a Show character is pure Genki; in her real-life personality, though she displays quite a bit of cynicism and remorse, she still manages to fit this trope.
    • Trixie the Triceratops from 3. Bonnie from the same film seems like she'll grow into one of these as well.
  • Poppy, the main protagonist of Trolls is happy, energetic, and hyperactive. She can sing, dance, and hug with the trolls.
  • In Turning Red, Abby is quite loud, excitable and hyperactive. During the dodgeball game, she has two balls in either hand and catches a third one thrown at her by biting it, like a dog. And in many scenes she's visibly vibrating.
  • Young Ellie from Up is definitely one of these. Her wonderful mania for living makes you feel for her all the more when she finds out that she can't have children.
  • Gabi from Vivo is loud, chaotic, and impulsive, in contrast to the more even-keeled Vivo.
  • Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck-It Ralph is certainly this. Considering that she's a game character from a candy-themed Racing Game, it would be downright bizarre to have her be anything but hyperactive.

    Films — Live-Action 
  • All About Steve has Mary who is constantly cheerful, talks at a mile a minute about every bit of trivia that goes through her head, and has a tendency to flail when she gets excited.
  • Bicentennial Man: Galatea shows up halfway through the film. Her perky and pop-culture riddled personality initially suggests that she's like Andrew, but then she reveals that it comes from her "Personality Chip", a program for human-like behaviour. After Andrew meddles with it, she turns into a surly grump that yells at Rupert for treating her like a robot slave. Her personality at the climax of the film is much more subdued, suggesting that the chip has been removed entirely.
  • Tessa, played by the wonderful Joan Fontaine, runs everywhere barefoot and very excitedly in the The Constant Nymph.
  • Cover Girl: Based on some catty advice from a rival, Rusty acts overly bouncy and perky in her interview for the modeling job, nearly blowing her chances. The publisher's assistant later describes her as "a redheaded nervous breakdown" and adds, "That one isn't a girl, John—she's a leaping thyroid."
  • Fanchon the Cricket: Fanchon is full of energy, running around everywhere. She rolls around in the grass and splashes through the stream. She dances with her own shadow. She's so energetic that she can't just sit on a wooden fence, she has to bounce up and down on the beam while she sings.
  • Godzilla King Ghidorah counts as an extremely villainous version of this, as Word of God says that the weird chittering noise he makes is meant to be insane cackling, implying he's having the time of his life as he massacres entire cities.
  • Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray (1988) and subsequent remakes. She is Big Fun: energetic and optimistic. She loves dancing, the Corny Collins show, and social justice.
  • Toyo from Ikiru is one of these, with her exuberance breaking Watanabe out of his death-inspired angst.
  • Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: The girls in the opening scene get very excited about the drag race, jumping in their seats a little. They beg for the other driver to race their car, with one of them drumming her hands on the back of the seat and the other waving excitedly as they speed up.
  • Miss Meadows: Miss Meadows is an adult, downplayed version. She's energetic, friendly, and wears tap shoes at all times, skipping when she walks. Only a couple times is she anything less than confident and upbeat.
  • Jordan Cochran in Real Genius.
    Jordan: I never sleep; I don't know why. I had a roommate and I drove her nuts—I mean really nuts—they had to take her away in an ambulance and everything. But she's okay now, but she had to transfer to an easier school. I don't know if that had anything to do with being my fault. But listen, if you ever need to talk or you need help studying, just let me know, 'cause I'm just a couple doors down from you guys and I never sleep, okay?
  • Basanti from Sholay—one of her main character traits is that she doesn't stop talking.

    Literature 
  • Angela Nicely: He’s a male dog, but in “Puppy Love!”, Angela’s neighbour’s dog Max runs all about the place and literally the only time he sits down is to poop.
  • The eponymous character of Anne of Green Gables, who has a tendency to spout monologues lasting for more than a page. She stops this in the later books.
  • Permanent Rose Casson from the Casson Family Series. She is described as recklessly boisterous (going so far as to cause a traffic jam just to meet a boy her brother knows—when she's only eight!) and, when told that her father is going to New York, she about bursts with energetic excitement.
  • The Chalet School books have a few of these, including heroine Joey Bettany (later Maynard), but the genkiest girl in the series has to be Mary-Lou Trelawney, arguably Joey's successor, whose endless enthusiasm and energy win her lots of friends and admirers during her time at the school. Add in Determinator tendencies and Chronic Hero Syndrome, and she wouldn't be out of place in a magical girl anime.
  • One of the first eccentricities Winterbourne notices about Daisy Miller is how she's just overflowing with energy and enthusiasm. "It was many years since he had heard a young girl talk so much."
  • Piggie from Elephant & Piggie is very active and cheerful, and, well, hammy. She often bounces onto the scene asking Gerald what they're going to do.
  • In Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo, Felicity runs around patting the animals and even shouts, "Guess who!?" to the zebra. Oddly enough, she's meant to be sick.
  • I Need A Wee: Or in this case, guy. Alan loves riding carnival rides and buying balloons and cake, to the point where even when he has to pee, he still wants to do them.
  • In the backstory of P. G. Wodehouse's Thank You, Jeeves, Bertie Wooster fell in love with the American Pauline Stoker due to her beauty.. and quickly out of love when exposed to her impulsive dynamism; in the actual story, she jumps off her father's yacht in the middle of the night and breaks into Bertie's cottage trying to reach the man she now loves, "Chuffy" Chufnell.
  • I Am Jazz: Jazz seems to be energetic as she lists dancing, backflips, soccer, and swimming in her interests, then later she does cartwheels and bounces on the trampoline with Casey and Samantha.
  • The Moonstone: Godfrey Ablewhite's sisters, whom Betteredge calls 'the Bouncers'.
    Everything the Miss Ablewhites said began with a large O; everything they did was done with a bang; and they giggled and screamed, in season and out of season, on the smallest provocation.
  • Of Fear and Faith: Elin is joyful, bubbly, and enthusiastic with No Sense of Personal Space, sometimes to her friends' chagrin, but usually not.
  • The eponymous character of the Ramona Quimby series is rambunctious and noisy and described as "the cheerleader type" by her older sister. Her excitable nature has been known to clash with her friend Howie's stoic demeanor.
  • Rainbow Magic:
    • Amber the Orange Fairy has the most energy of the Rainbow Fairies, and loves to turn cartwheels in the air.
    • Addison the April Fool's Day Fairy is always bursting with excitement and has to be reminded several times that she can't be spotted by other humans.
  • Rivers of London: Beverly Brook. Her enthusiasm frequently leaves protagonist DC Grant exhausted, especially when she is near a river (well, she is an Anthropomorphic Personification of the river by the same name).
  • Roys Bedoys: Zigzagged for Roys himself. Sometimes he seems very energetic, running and jumping, and other times he’s more grumpy.
  • Spy School: Zoe is a very positive and upbeat character and one of the first to genuinely befriend Ben (although this characterization seems to be slipping a bit by the eighth book). Ashley Sparks is also a pretty cheery and energetic person to be around as long as she likes you, that is.
  • The Stormlight Archive: Shallan portrays this image in public, always smiling and cheerful, full of energy, and ready to move forward on the next project. It's not quite an act but... it's an incomplete image of her.
  • The Twilight Saga: Alice Cullen is happy in nature and very energetic.
  • Hajrah from West Meadows Detectives runs and talks almost constantly. As she explains it, she goes to the special needs classroom because she bounces too much. She sits on an exercise ball and squeezes toys to get her energy out.

    Live-Action TV 
  • Amber Brown (2022): Amber and Brandi are both usually very energetic, cheerful girls.
  • Amber Ruffin from Late Night and The Amber Ruffin Show.
  • Geum Jan Di from the 2009 Korean adapted show, Boys over Flowers. When she transferred to Shinhwa school, she was the target of the f4 (the school bullies) but she doesn’t acknowledge this as she refused to be treated which later on got the interest of the two members of the group, one is Gu Jun Pyo and the other is Jihoo. Besides that, she is loud and brash and believes what’s right as she always stands up for her friends.
  • Dharma & Greg: Dharma is the most energetic flower child you can imagine.
  • Doctors: Cherry, particularly in her early appearances. When she first started work at the Mill, Michelle got her to put away all the medicine that had been left out, expecting to have to sort it out herself later. Not only did Cherry get it done in record time, while she was at it, she alphabetized all the cabinets to make things easier to find.
  • Doctor Who:
    • The Thirteenth Doctor is loud, socially awkward, and extremely excitable, to the point of jumping up and down like a child when she gets a package delivered to her by a robot.
    • While the emotions of the TARDIS usually aren't able to be fully read, when she takes on the form of a human named Idris, she's shown to be incredibly bubbly and go-getting.
  • Firefly: Kaylee.
    Jayne: Captain, can you stop her from being cheerful, please?
    Mal: I don't believe there's a power in the 'verse can stop Kaylee from being cheerful. Sometimes you just want to duct tape her mouth and dump her in the hold for a month.
    Kaylee: (kisses Mal on the cheek) I love my captain.
  • Full House: Middle child Stephanie is perky, talkative and the most excitable of the girls. Unless Kimmy is around.
  • Giada De Laurentiis is a somewhat more sedate Genki Girl, also on Food Network. What probably helps is that, with that largish head and especially large eyes of hers, she even almost looks like a real-life anime girl. Or, to put it visually◊...
  • Gilmore Girls: Lorelai is perhaps one of the most chipper characters on the show. Her daughter Rory is the more grounded one, although she has her genki moments as well.
  • Ginny and Georgia: It's downplayed as she doesn't always act like this, but when in a good mood Max is bouncy, extremely cheerful and energetic.
  • Girl Meets World: Riley Matthews is full of it. She always has a happy and bubbly attitude.
  • Glee: Rachel Berry is the triple-threat Genki Girl. She always signs her name with a gold-star sticker and wakes up every day at 6:00 for her daily exercise routine. She claims to have won her first dance competition at three months old.
  • Hannah Montana:
    • Lilly, especially in her early tomboy days, is extremely extroverted and excitable. Emily Osment often carries this into her 2014 show, Young & Hungry, too.
    • To a lesser extent, Miley herself has a very energetic attitude, including her pop-star persona.
  • iCarly: Carly, with her loud nature and her Large Ham tendencies, can be considered this. Their Loony Fan Mandy as well.
  • Ingrid Hoffman is relatively sedate on her English-language show, but watch her in Spanish... it's like Rachael Ray raided Giada's closet.
  • Interview with the Vampire (2022): At the start of her vampiric existence, Claudia is an exuberant and energetic girl, frequently running around the house even though Louis and Lestat repeatedly tell her not to.
  • Kwebbel and Smal from Studio 100's Kabouter Plop series. They get easily excited compared to the other gnomes. Especially Kwebbel who gets excited very easily when certain events happen.
  • Nico Saiba of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid channels her hyperactive energy into her colorful dressing style, energetic personality, and tendency to redecorate the place she's staying at to match her style. No respect for personal space or material possession, either. Everything mentioned above is either a sign of her immature personality, trolling, or a bit of both. This kind of attitude often grates on the nerves of her doctor, Taiga Hanaya a.k.a the poor sap who got stuck with her.
  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Eliot Stabler's daughter is found in one episode wearing just a shower curtain and playing on the swings in a children's playground (It Makes Sense in Context... up to a point, anyway); when challenged, she replies, "It's wonderful, Daddy! I'm flying, I'm flying!". It turns out that she has bipolar disorder and is in a manic state.
  • LazyTown: Stephanie is energetic and happy a lot of the time, and many of her songs are about getting up and moving.
  • The Middle: Sue has enough energy and enthusiasm to rival a cartoon characternote , but for some reason, she's always ignored by everyone and, as a running joke, nobody notices her or remembers her name. On the bright side, she at least appears to be cheerfully unaware of it.
  • NCIS: Perky Goth Abby Scuito. If this show was a manga, she would be most likely to Say It with Hearts.
  • Odd Squad: Olympia is far and away the most excitable and energetic member of the main cast, which helps with her Workaholic nature. And whenever she's around Olive and Otto, her excitability rises. Her genki nature is a contrast with her partner Otis, who is more calm and reserved.
  • Open Heart: Mikayla. She's super excited about helping Dylan find her dad. And also most other things.
  • Parks and Recreation: hyper, perennially enthusiastic Leslie Knope, to the stoic chagrin of boss Ron Swanson.
  • Rachael Ray from her eponymous talk show. She purposely avoids "sob stories" and almost always has a smile on her face. She also works 100-hour weeks and is a rather shrewd businesswoman, and her energy and determination are usually quoted as the source of her success.
  • Sandra Lee, once again from Food Network. She fits the "dosed up on caffeine" requirement.
  • Scrubs:
    • Elliot Reid was for the most part of the first few seasons highly enthusiastic and quick-talking, tempered with bouts of self-doubt (audience: AWWWW!). Her enthusiasm was more of a mask. She was very neurotic on the inside, due to bad childhood experience, overbearing parents, etc. She could be considered a Genki Girl later on, the way she pushes her boyfriends about (sometimes literally). This is a case of Characterization Marches On and Early-Installment Weirdness. Elliot was initially portrayed as a competitive and smug know-it-all—her genki tendencies didn't show up until the second season.
    • Played for Drama with Denise, a paramedic Dr. Cox is forced to work with. She's eternally cheerful and babbles on and on about everything. It turns out that her young son died in an accident years ago.
  • Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Julian Bashir is a male version of this at times in the early seasons, approaching everything with great excitement and basically never shutting up. He largely grows out of it as the series progresses due to being tempered by experience.
  • Victorious: Cat Valentine. Even though she's a Mood-Swinger, she spends most of her time in happy mode.
  • Warehouse 13: Claudia Donovan, a hyperactive, always-getting-into trouble tech wiz.
  • Wild Romance: Kang Jong Hee is bipolar, so she goes through periods of excitability and depression. When she's happy, she's exceedingly happy and takes to biting people.

    Music 

    Professional Wrestling 
  • Mickie James, though she fits the bill more when she was playing her psycho character. Her entrance theme was a Suspiciously Similar Song version of "Hey Mickie" and she would literally bounce all the way to the ring. She calmed the bouncing down after her Heel–Face Turn, but still fit the trope.
  • A.J. Lee when she was on NXT season 3. Overly perky and energetic and she once appropriately had to give a speech about caffeine. "Caffeine will perk you up, but I'm some natural dynamite, baby."
  • Christy Hemme from the first Diva Search was like this, standing out as the only girl who actually had a lot of personality. Trish Stratus even told her with her winnings she could go buy herself some decaf. Christy responded, "It's all natural."
  • Jessica James from the indie circuit and SHIMMER fame is like this as well. It rubbed off on her tag team partner Rachel Summerlynn when they formed Rachel and Jessica's Excellent Tag Team.
  • The appropriately-named Amber Lively from Wrestlicious, the perky and fun-loving cheerleader. What's hilarious is that the woman who plays her (Madison Rayne) is known for playing the exact opposite in TNA.
  • Canadian wrestler Jennifer Blake is in full-on genki mode whenever she works face. As a heel, not so much. It's still very appropriate that her nickname is "Girl Dynamite."
  • As a heel, Layla wavered between this and The Fool. After her Heel–Face Turn, she was a proper Genki Girl. She would even enthusiastically kiss a child in the crowd during her entrance.
  • Bayley eventually became this as a result of Characterization Marches On. Her character began as a starstruck fangirl who was a bit shy. Eventually she morphed into an energetic character who wanted to hug everyone. Her change in entrance themes to a more up-tempo song reflects this.
  • Becky Lynch whether heel or face is an aggressive headbanger who just seems to have unending sources of energy. A glance at interviews shows she's like this in real life too.
  • Male example with Welsh wrestler Mark Andrews, who borders on Keet territory at times. Just watching his entrance is exhausting. He seems to be like this most of the time, if interviews are any indication.

    Tabletop Games 
  • Pathfinder: The Curse of the Crimson Throne AP gives us allied NPC Laori Vaus, the disturbingly enthusiastic cleric of a god of Pain and Loss. So genki, she creeps out other members of her church. The book she's introduced in includes the wonderful description of how she made her pilgrimage "Armed only with her indomitable optimism and an appetite for pain."
  • Things Mr. Welch Is No Longer Allowed to Do in an RPG:
    "48. The elf is restricted to decaf for the rest of the adventure."

    Theatre 
  • Hilde Wangel in The Master Builder by Henrik Ibsen is probably one of the oldest examples. She is irresponsible, playful, and clearly after amusement. And when she gets Solness to climb the highest tower, like she has urged him to, she can't keep herself from jumping and waving her hat—and making him lose his balance and fall to the ground in the process. Her reaction is more bewildered than guilt-ridden.

    Visual Novels 
  • Ace Attorney:
  • Ascension (2013): Tillie, the Team Mom. Her relentless joie de vivre is frequently lampshaded by the other characters; The Heroine even refers to her as a "sugar-crazed alchemist dwarf." Proof: her reunion with The Heroine in the second chapter, in which she goes in for a big ol' glomp:
    Tillie: OHMYSPIRITSEANNAOLDKINGSGREATSTONES!!!! ICANTBELIEVEITSYOUICANTBELIEVEITSYOU!!!!!
  • Hagino apparently has this role assigned to her in Canvas 2 and is required to be cheerful or Hiroki will get upset.
  • Danganronpa:
    • The first game has Genocide Jack describe herself as this. It is not an accurate description.
    • Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair: Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician. She's prone to saying things twice when she gets particularly excited. When Hajime spends time with her, he notes that keeping up with her is an immense challenge (one event has her getting him to run laps around the island for no particular reason).
  • Doki Doki Literature Club! has Sayori, the player character's childhood friend, a bright and cheery girl who seems to live to make everyone around her happy. It's a coping mechanism she uses to hide her depression, and it eventually stops working.
  • The Fruit of Grisaia: Makina is arguably the most energetic and random member of the cast, often exhausting or exasperating the others - and leaving them dumbstruck with her motor mouth when she doesn't.
  • Little Busters!: Haruka. Constantly running around causing mischief? Penchant for broadcasting her emotions at the top of her lungs? Acts like she's incapable of being serious for ten seconds at a time? Check, check, and check. She has Hidden Depths, though—she's well aware that she's very noisy and feels awkward around people like Rin who can't deal with that, and can be quite savvy when she puts her mind to things. The whole thing is covering up a very screwed-up, insecure individual who has very, very good reasons for priding herself on causing commotions.
  • Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors zigzags on this with Clover. This is her default mood, but she also spends most of the game depressed and moody due to her brother Snake's apparent death. When it turns out that Snake is still alive, she bounces back quickly and returns to her normal energetic self.
  • Sunrider: Asaga Oakrun is the most energetic Ryder pilot in your team, a self-styled "hero of justice" prone to spouting off lines like "I'ma firin' mah lazors!" in the middle of combat, and a constant annoyance to your ship's disciplinarian because of her lack of it and her attempts to gamble with the crew during her downtime. In an aversion to the RPG aspect, her Ryder is the Jack of All Stats rather than a Glass Cannon.
  • Mildly deconstructed with Akira Amatsume in Yosuga no Sora who gets so energetic and enthusiastic during the preparations of a festival that she overworks herself and collapses due to exhaustion.

    Web Animation 
  • The thief from Diamond Jack is very cheerful and a charming Determinator, although she's also more composed than the usual.
  • Dreamscape: Anjren sometimes is, like when she gets amped up or excited about something.
  • DSBT InsaniT:
    • Kayla is very chatty and hyper.
    • Weird Girl is very...eccentric and talkative.
  • Object Mayhem: Toast is basically one of the most hated characters in the series due to her extreme annoyance, overexcitement, exaggerations, candy-loving, and hyper personality.
  • RWBY: Nora is an energetic non-stop talker who doesn't appear to have an off switch even at the crack of dawn. She's even accompanied by her own unique zany music score for when she really gets going. Contrast with her partner Ren, who needs to be kicked out of bed in the morning and who barely talks. Not even brushing her teeth or eating breakfast slows her down. The quietest and most still she gets is when the Headmaster is explaining their first task, but she interrupts him once and can be seen in the background bouncing energetically on her heels as she waits for the task to begin. Ren seems to tolerate her energy and Motor Mouth with good humor and affection.

    Webcomics 
  • Angel Moxie: Shugari, one of the Big Bad's minions, is the embodiment of Cute Is Evil.
  • Ansem Retort: Larxene. She's a homicidal version of this, once nuking Disney World because she couldn't get free Funnel Cake.
  • Circumstances of the Revenant Braves: Fio is a girl of action and gets restless when sitting around for too long. She even hopes for trouble if it will alleviate her boredom.
  • Erma: Erma's cousin Emily. It makes Erma nervous.
  • El Goonish Shive:
  • Girl Genius:
    • A comically Ax-Crazy version—Bangladesh DuPree. Her first phrase in the comic is "Ta daa! I am here!" and on the next page she proclaims "Nobody knows more about torture than me!"...just as cheerfully.
  • Alma of Godslave has all the syndromes, including breaking into squeeing over Anpu and constantly pestering Edith to go and do something!
  • Homestuck:
    • Jade Harley. Even her typing quirk is genki—omitting periods and overusing exclamation points and emoticons.
    • Nepeta wears a cute outfit and shows lots of enthusiasm. Her saccharine disposition is demonstrated as she demonstrates The Glomp on her friend Equius. (Just after she shreds a monster with her Wolverine Claws.)
    • Feferi also tends to get overexcited about everything and frequently makes fish puns with glee, even when she’s dead.
    • Beforus gives us Latula, who is constantly on the go and obsessed with being Totally Radical, and Meulin, a Tumblr Fangirl parody prone to over-dramatic emotional declarations and gleeful shipping dedication.
  • Impure Blood: Mac comes running to burble over the car and goes Squee over the Abomination.
  • Sedine from InSecurity tends to be childlike and energetic, much to her husband Sam's dismay.
  • The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob!: The always-enthusiastic Molly the Peanut Butter Monster. It probably helps that she has a super-fast metabolism and can outrun a bear.
    • Floyd Fitznewski is a more obnoxious example. He's a grown adult with children of his own, but seems to live his life in a perpetual sugar-rush and will take any opportunity to deliver a "flying tackle" to... well, anyone.
  • Lackadaisy: Ivy is actually based on a hyperactive cat that the author knew.
  • Cinnabar from Little Lapses is your typical hyperactive child. A loud motor-mouth who frequently fidgets, hops, and runs around.
  • M9 Girls!: Clau is always hyperactive and overly optimistic.
  • A Magical Roommate: Daria is a genki dragon who was introduced to tools and became obsessed. Then she was introduced to modern technology...
    Aylia: Clearly, you've never witnessed [the] homework exploding machine.
  • MegaTokyo: Asako is a Genki Girl of Mass Destruction, and her friend Mami knows the arming codes. As Mami says, "Hey, I always reserve the right to use the 'Asako option'. You should know that by now."
  • Misfile: Missi definitely qualifies. While not exactly hyper, she's drastically more energetic and upbeat than the rest of the cast. So far, nothing, not even being dumped, has been able to make her sad for more than a single panel.
  • Monsterful: Sapphire. The energetic zombie teenager is way faster and louder than a zombie should be.
  • Murphy's Law: Serrin. As an example, she energetically hugs an armed stranger.
  • My Impossible Soulmate: The adorable fish girl Verity is very frequently excited.
  • Ozy and Millie: The hyperactive, lovably eccentric Millie Mudd is a Genki Girl-in-training.
  • Paranatural: Suzy is a journalist version of this. Every time she appears, often or always around her "willing" assistant Collin, she's doing something over-the-top and insane. This mostly involves trying to get the main character Max to join the Journalism Club at the school. Or blackmail. And in the spinoff section, Supernormal, she has a single appearance that further cements the evidence she's slightly off...and a fan of circular journalism. See it here◊.
  • Penny and Aggie: Lisa and, to a lesser extent, Katy-Ann.
    "Dear Mr. President: I have solved the world's energy needs. All you need to do is put two girls I know on a treadmill."
  • Phantomarine: Lani is far too energetic for someone who's been a seagost for a while now.
  • Sluggy Freelance: Kiki. The one time they fed her Pixy Stix, she made a ferret-shaped hole in the wall and circled the Earth three times before the others had even reacted.
  • Super Temps: Skull Girl. She has been barred from coffee and sugar twice, her outbursts can create walls of text, and her energy can demolish a multi-story corporate complex in minutes.
  • Three Jaguars: Marketer, with her boundless energy.
  • Walkyverse: Robin DeSanto from It's Walky! and Shortpacked! is so genki it qualifies as a superpower. She moves like a bolt of lightning, smells like Skittles, and has less impulse control than your average three-year-old. She once ate a bowl of Cadbury cream eggs; next thing she knew, she'd been elected to Congress and had no idea how.

    Web Original 
  • Dad: Downplayed; Diane can be calm and rational, but is still highly energetic and extroverted, even being referred to by Cheryl as a "big ball of energy" and by Dad as impulsive and wild. She just enjoys life and likes to have as much fun and adventure as she can.
  • The Gumdrops Laura is very energetic and too quick to act on certain things. This was influenced by her actress Rebecca Rose Flynn - who was often cast as serious Girl Next Door characters - but was fun and bubbly offscreen. The character was created for her to play someone close to her own personality.
  • Evelyn from Less is Morgue is an insanely excitable ghost girl who gets to giddy levels of enthusiasm over everything from dogs to Nickelback.
    Evelyn: Did you know there are whole Twitter accounts that just have pictures of dogs? I hadn't seen a dog in sixteen years, then boom, dogs everywhere! Dogs driving cars - can you believe that? Can you believe that there's a dog out there that can drive? I mean, how did the dogs learn how to drive? Is there a doggy driving school? I bet every dog that goes to driving school just aces it, because dogs are good at everything. I used to have a dog - she was a rescue and her name was Peppermint. She was a Pomeranian-Cross-Alaskan-Malamute, and—
  • Survival of the Fittest V4: Maria Graham, who's an odd mix of Genki Girl, Cloudcuckoolander, and Stepford Smiler.
  • The French-Italian YouTuber Tess Masazza can be VERY enthusiastic and energetic when she is brought to a waterpark.
  • Whateley Universe: Toni Chandler, AKA Chaka, is definitely a Genki Girl. She's learned to stay away from caffeine and sugar (and to be very careful with chocolate, which acts as an aphrodisiac for her).
  • A Very Potter Musical: Ginny, as part of her Manic Pixie Dream Girl persona. Cho comes close as well.

    Western Animation 
  • American Dad!: Francine. With her high energy, she can be somewhat crazy.
  • Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers: Gadget is a very cheerful and energetic Wrench Wench.
  • Codename: Kids Next Door: Kuki "Numbuh 3" Sanban is, without doubt, the most bubbly and energetic (often annoyingly so) member of Sector V. note 
  • Daria: Brittany. She's a bubbly, energetic, and ditzy blonde-haired Girlish Pigtails-wearing cheerleader who just wants to make people happy. There are other examples on the show as well. Quinn lapses into this at times. Stacey maybe even more so.
  • Dexter's Laboratory: Dee Dee, the hyperactive sister of Dexter.
  • Fanboy and Chum Chum: Yo is so genki, she can appear in two places at once.
  • FETCH! with Ruff Ruffman: Season 2's Rosario Corso is a male example. He's usually very funny in the show, and the episode "Ruff's Big Break" goes to show just how hilarious he can be.
  • Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: Goo is a straight-up example. Madame Foster herself sometimes fills this role, too, despite the fact that she's an old lady. Coco also shows elements of this at times, with a heavy dose of Cloudcuckoolander and The Unintelligible.
  • Gargoyles introduced Puck in "The Mirror", a trickster elf of the Third Race. A bit more subdued than most examples, he is still one of the most energetic characters in the show; constantly floating or dancing around, befitting his carefree nature.
  • The Ghost and Molly McGee: The titular character Molly is very excitable and energetic.
  • Glitch Techs: Miko's one boisterous tomboy. Even while playing games, she tends to move and run around constantly.
  • Goof Troop: Pistol is constantly hyper. As her neighbor Max once put it, "watching Pistol is like nailing Jell-O to a tree." Playing with her is considered a nuisance at best and outright torture at worst, and, if they can, people try to avoid the task or pass it on to others, usually stopping at Extreme Doormat PJ unless he manages to hide. It's fairly surprising, considering that her father is very lazy and her mother and brother take turns being the Only Sane Man.
  • Gravity Falls: Mabel Pines is loud, playful, and enthusiastic about just about everything ("Yay, grass!"). Her energy is justified since the show has frequent references to her sugar intake.
    Wendy: What is she talking about?
    Dipper: Nothing! Mabel's just been eating raw sugar packets again.
    Mabel: (Eating sugar packets) Om nom nom... that's beside the point!
  • Hazbin Hotel:
    • Charlie Morningstar is a peppy and enthusiastic demon princess who's all fired up about the idea of rehabilitating demons and sending them to Heaven. Sometimes aggressively so.
      Charlie: Omigosh, welcome to the Happy Hotel! You are going to LOVE IT HERE!!
    • Niffty the maid is very hyperactive and zips around the hotel at incredible speed.
  • Hero Elementary has two examples:
    • Sara Snap is definitely a feisty ball of energy whenever she's passionate about something, such as lifting heavy objects, or her sports idol Athletica.
    • Turbo Tina also falls into this thanks to her speed and Motor Mouth tendencies when she's excited.
  • Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi: Ami Onuki, who's very much this. Excitable, cheerful, always optimistic, and an all-around sweetie. Needless to say, whenever Ami gets all excited, she sometimes gets on Yumi's nerves as a result. For example, in "Collect All Five", there's this little exchange when Ami explains to Yumi about the Super Rainbow Blast cereal:
    Ami: Isn't it awesome?!
    Yumi: Yeah, awesomely sappy.
  • A number of characters (female and male) in Jellystone! have shades of this, but the one character who fully embodies the trope is the show's version of Jabberjaw.
    Jabberjaw: Anybody wanna hear how loud I can scream? AAAAAAAAAH!!!
  • KaBlam!: June started out as one of these, as well as The Ditz. In season two, she's still this trope at times, but much more snarky. In season three, this starts to drop a little bit more as she becomes a sarcastic Jerkass, and by season four, this is gone and she became a slight example of the only sane girl.
  • Kaeloo is perpetually cheerful, hyperactive, playful, and enthusiastic about almost everything.
  • The Looney Tunes Show: Lola Bunny. She's an energetic Cloudcuckoolander with a Motor Mouth.
  • The Loud House: Leni, Luan, and Lily are very happy-go-lucky, Lynn is energetic enough to do many sports at once, and Luna is a rocker. Darcy also seems quite cheery, although she does cry when Lisa rejects her. Sid is also very upbeat and energetic and Polly Pain is energetic too.
  • The Mighty B!: Bessie Higgenbottom is an ambitious and optimistic 9-year-old Honeybee Scout who believes that she will become a superhero called "The Mighty B" if she collects every Honeybee badge.
  • Molly of Denali: Molly is a playful, happy-go-lucky girl. She loves coming up with crazy schemes and going on epic adventures.
  • My Life as a Teenage Robot: Jenny is very bubbly and is shown to get excited easily. Her mother is also is very excitable and lively, so it's no surprise where she gets it from.
  • My Little Pony:
    • From the original series, we have Surprise, whom FIM Pinkie is heavily based on. She enjoys pranking people, is very active, and is very loud.
    • My Little Pony (G3): Pinkie Pie isn't quite as madcap as her FIM version, but she loves parties and is obsessed with the color pink.
    • My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic:
      • Pinkie Pie is this merged with Cloudcuckoolander. Her energy breaks the fourth wall by pure accident! "Party of One" explores (and later deconstructs) this; there is a limit to her energy, but it is significantly higher than everyone else's. Then you watch her get angry and find out her energy can be used for more than just bouncing happily... "Too Many Pinkies" has Pinkie inadvertently creating an unruly horde of flanderized clones of herself. Her friends, used to Pinkie embodying this trope, can't tell the difference between the mindless clones who constantly spout "FUN!" and the real Pinkie. This causes Pinkie to have an existential crisis and seriously consider the possibility that she's just a clone who thinks she's real.
      • The Cutie Mark Crusaders. Individually, they're energetic. Together, they egg each other on and build off each other to astonishing lengths.
      • Rainbow Dash, surprisingly, counts as well, especially in later episodes with her excitement over the new Daring Do book and the Equestria Games. In the latter, she flat-out channels Pinkie Pie for the whole episode.
      • As "Amending Fences" reveals, Minuette, one of Twilight's old Canterlot friends, is a very upbeat girl. No wonder she and Pinkie are friends.
      • Gabby Griffon is a griffon who's obsessed with getting a cutie mark of her own (despite it being a pony-only trait) and a major glomp. Even the Cutie Mark Crusaders find her energy overwhelming.
      • Silverstream the Hippogriff is absolutely fascinated by everything on the surface world after she spent most of her life in a coral reef underwater.
      • One-shot character Autumn Blaze may be an even bigger Motor Mouth than Pinkie Pie. Given that her fellow Kirin decided to stop talking, it's not surprising she'd have a lot to say.
  • Mysticons: Piper is extremely energetic, often doing acrobatic moves (such as flips) and having some pretty energetic responses when she figured out a riddle or if she's excited.
  • Numberjacks: A lot of characters seem to fit this trope, but Three is the most recognisable example. Getting jumpy and excited, especially when she's going out on missions. Is it any wonder Four, Five, and Six sometimes consider her a handful?
  • The Owl House: Luz Noceda is a playful teenage girl who learns to become a witch and makes the Boiling Isles a more upbeat place. However, her positivity fades due to traumatic events, leading to a listless Broken Bird in "Thanks to Them".
  • The Powerpuff Girls: Bubbles is, fittingly enough, the most bubbly of the girls, having their "joy and the laughter". Don't think for a second, though, that she cannot be hardcore. Mojo Jojo learned that the hard way.
  • Puppy Dog Pals has two girl pups Keia and Lollie who are both very energetic.
  • Ready Jet Go!: Mindy is a highly bubbly and energetic Cheerful Child.
  • Recess: Cindy, one of the kindergartners. Miss Grotke can be a mild example at times.
  • Rolie Polie Olie has Zowie, the younger sister of the titular Olie. Most child characters in the series are cheerful children, but she easily takes the cake by being the most hyperactive and rambunctious out of all of them. She is outgoing and welcoming to nearly everyone she meets, and often happily cries "Olie Olie Olie Olie!" whenever her brother comes into the picture.
  • Sofia the First: In stark contrast to her owner, who is shy when Sofia first meets her, Crackle is an excitable dragon who likes tackle-hugging any new friend she meets, especially Clover.
  • Star Trek: Lower Decks: Ensign Tendi is a bouncy Ensign Newbie who approaches even the most boring jobs on the Cerritos with glee.
  • Star vs. the Forces of Evil: Star Butterfly, who takes this as far as the meter goes and more. She is a hyperactive teenage girl whose hobbies include fighting monsters, going on dangerous adventures, and using her wand's powers to create anything she wants, such as adorable animals or indoor water slides.
  • Teen Titans (2003): Starfire. All that emotional energy is the source of her superpowers. 'Joy' for Flight, 'confidence' for super strength, and general perkiness.
  • Total Drama:
    • Izzy. So genki, that she's even enthusiastic about getting poison ivy wrapped around her face as part of a challenge.
    • Sierra is almost as hyper and energetic as Izzy, further exacerbated by her fangirliness.
    • Lindsay also counts as well. She's really bubbly and energetic, and tends to get excited if she sees something she likes. She's really cheerful and, despite being a Dumb Blonde, always makes up for her mistakes with her positive attitude and kind-hearted personality.
  • Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race: Kitty is quite upbeat and tries to look on the bright side of grave situations.
  • Transformers: Prime: Miko, who transferred to an American school to escape a life of piano lessons and ends up in the middle of a war between alien robots, to her absolute delight. She's voiced by Tania Gunadi, who is good at these in many of her roles.
  • If you thought this type couldn't be evil, check out Wander over Yonder's Lord Dominator, Knight of Cerebus, Viler New Villain, and Omnicidal Maniac to boot. Per the creators, she was intentionally written as a character whose enthusiasm for evil matches All-Loving Hero Wander's enthusiasm for good.
  • W.I.T.C.H.: Hay Lin loves life, designing clothes, painting, and sending armies of mooks flying with a wave of her arm.
  • Work It Out Wombats!: Zadie loves zooming from place to place and forming hundreds of ideas at once.
  • World of Winx has Lorelei, who replaced Bloom as co-host of "Wow!" because of a . . . certain incident between Bloom and show host Ace. She is excitable, ditzy . . . and slightly obnoxious.
  • Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum: Just like her brother, Yadina is eager and enthusiastic about pretty much anything.
  • Zig & Sharko: Marina the mermaid, who gets excited about every little thing, even when Sharko is the one doing it.

 
Feedback

Video Example(s):

Miko Kubota

Miko's first scene shows her for what she is - a hyperactive gamer girl.

Tomo Takino

Ajimi Kiki

Charlotte "Lott...

Dani Rojas, Rojas!

Alternative Title(s): Genki Boy, Genki Guy

Previous

Index

Next

  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Wide Load

Important Links

Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Go Ad Free!
Crucial Browsing
Resources
Top

Miko Kubota

Miko's first scene shows her for what she is - a hyperactive gamer girl.

How well does it match the trope?

5 (5 votes)

Example of:

Main / GenkiGirl

Media sources:

Report

Miko Kubota

Tomo Takino

Ajimi Kiki

Charlotte "Lott...

Dani Rojas, Rojas!