Basic Trope: The Cutie has a scary weapon.
- Straight: Ichigo, an adorable-looking young girl, likes to lug around a huge axe.
- Exaggerated: Her weapon is actually larger than her, with an Absurdly Sharp Blade with all sorts of wicked curves and spikes on it. It's powered by the souls of other previously slain adorable looking young girls who are also holding the same exact sort of weapon.
- Downplayed: Ichigo carries a pocket knife or any other mundane (but still dangerous) weapon.
- Justified:
- Ichigo is a Cute Bruiser, and the axe is her weapon.
- Ichigo can use the shock value of her wielding such a scary weapon against her opponents.
- Everyone sees Ichigo as a cute innocent little girl and she wants to be taken more seriously as a fighter. She decides to get a scary-looking weapon to emphasize thatu she means business.
- Inverted: Ryuji, a massive and fearsome looking guy in leather and spikes, carries around a cute little wand smaller than his pinkie.
- Subverted:
- Ichigo uses a Magic Wand as her weapon.
- The first time Ichigo reaches for her weapon, it's clearly small enough to fit in her pocket.
- Ichigo's 'axe' is a squeaky rubber axe with clearly visible inflation plug.
- Double Subverted:
- ...However, a surprisingly long blade is concealed inside the wand and can be revealed with a flick of a switch.
- Ichigo's Magic Wand can burn people to ashes, summon meteors, fry creatures and machines within ten meters radius, explode even the strongest of the fortresses...
- Small things can be horribly frightening too. Case in point? Ichigo's weapon of choice is syringes. What's in them may vary, but her favorite seems to have some halucinogenic properties in addition to being poisonous.
- Either that or her pocket is obviously a Hammerspace.
- Parodied:
- Ichigo's BFS is her Security Blanket, in more ways than one.
- Or: Ichigo's BFS is covered in sparkles, gems, and ribbons. She calls it Billy. "My favorite color is pink, but Billy likes red better."
- Zig Zagged: Ichigo constantly makes ominous threats about her secret weapon... Which turns out to be a frilly pink wand... That fires gigantic pink nukes... Which nonetheless inflict a Non-Lethal K.O. at the very worst. Furthermore, Ichigo turns out to be a crossdressing Ryuji.
- Averted:
- Ichigo does not carry any weapon at all.
- Ichigo's weapon does not immediately bring the word "bloodbath" to mind.
- Ryuji carries around two brutish brass knuckles named Lefty and Righty. Notably, Lefty appears to be more worn down and blood splattered.
- Enforced: The creator likes the visual contrast of a sweet little girl carrying a dangerous-looking weapon.
- Lampshaded: "You idiot! Of course she has a scary-ass weapon! Look at how adorable she is!" Cut to Ichigo being supercute.
- Invoked: Ichigo has had enough bad experiences with people who think "small and cute" means "easy target" that she's decided to arm herself with something a little more intimidating.
- Exploited: Alice and Bob recruit Ichigo for their casino robbery because they figure no one will bother checking a cute little girl for weapons.
- Defied: "How do you expect me to use that? That axe is as big as I am! Give me the bow."
- Discussed:Ichigo: "Hey, cool, a team of world-saving heroes! Can I sign up, please?"
Ryuji: "Er... yer not gonna whip out a BFS and go all psycho on us, right?"
Ichigo: "I get that a lot... but don't worry, I use a machine gun!" - Conversed:"Why does Ichigo carry around an axe almost as big as she is?"
"I don't know, why don't you ask her? - Deconstructed: The weapon Ichigo uses is unsafe or unwieldy for someone of her stature. Even when she's not accidentally hurting herself with her weapon, she only really carries it for the intimidation value.
- Reconstructed: She knows a)how to use her weapon safely and effectively due to special training, and b)that no one will expect her to be able to use it.
- Played For Laughs: Alice and Bob have just met Ichigo, who wants to join their team. Bob assumes she's going to be Just A Tagalong Kid... Until Ichigo whips out her weapon, which is larger than she is, and handles it with deceptive ease. "So, can I join? Pretty please? I promise to kill all the bad guys I can!"
- Played For Drama: Ichigo has always acted like such a nice, sweet girl... But suddenly she's got Dull Eyes of Unhappiness and has whipped out a machete. Running might be a good idea at this point.
Get back to Girl with Psycho Weapon or I'll peel your skin off an inch at a time with this kukri! (giggle)
