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Sayochan

Isn't she scary?

Cquote1

Little ghost, little ghost
One I'm scared of the most

Can you scare me up a little bit of love?
The White Stripes, "Little Ghost"
Cquote2


Simply put, the Cute Ghost Girl is a female member of the cast who just so happens to be a ghost. Despite this fact, they often look entirely like a normal person (except for the presence of Ghost Lights and a lack of feet), will act accordingly, and are treated more or less normally by the rest of the cast. The whole "they're dead" aspect is not considered a big deal by anyone, and once they are inducted into the cast the fact that they are a ghost will only come up on occasion. Oftentimes, it can be easy to forget that they're a ghost because they act so much like the rest of the cast. . .to the extent that the cute ghost girl herself is sometimes afraid of ghosts.

In some cases, the ghost girl will actually have some sort of artificial body that allows them to act even more like a normal human.

A subtype of Cute Monster Girl. Often overlaps with Reluctant Monster, especially when they are first introduced. If the Cute Ghost Girl is evil and trying to scare the crap out of/curse everybody, she's a Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl.

Examples of Cute Ghost Girl include:

Anime and Manga[]

  • Meiko aka Menma, the focus of Ano Hana, whom only Jinta can see until almost the end. She is suspected to be stuck on Earth until her wish is granted, which she cannot remember.
  • Oshizu from To LOVE-Ru. Has an artificial body made by Mikado-sensei that she possesses.
  • Sayo Aisaka (pictured above) from Mahou Sensei Negima. A little more ghost-y than others, but mainly because nobody can see her. When they finally figure out she exists they start treating her like a normal girl. Later, she's able to possess a doll.
  • Yu Yu Hakusho has Sayaka, an Ill Girl who was desperate to have some kind of fun before she went to heaven. Botan plays the trope a bit more straight, despite being a Shinigami instead of a ghost. There's a scene in the manga where she has to rush back to Reikai, and Yanagisawa freaks out because her body suddenly falls over—what he doesn't see is that she's left it behind and is flying away on her oar.
    • In the anime, Sayaka's story was different. She was still a Cute Ghost Girl, but actually was an employee of Koenma who has to keep Yuusuke on check to see if he's really worthy of being revived.
  • Many female Shinigami in Bleach technically qualify, although the human spirits like the one Ichigo helps in the first chapter are probably closer to this.
    • Orihime was one of these in the pilot chapter, and if you don't think that tiny!Rukia is adorable as well, there's something wrong with you.
  • One such ghost girl is a student under Hell Teacher Nube.
  • Elizabeth from Maburaho.
  • The Ranma ½ episodes with Kogane, although it is obvious she's a ghost.
    • Also, when the negative energy from Ranma's female persona was released, she became a female ghost. This has led to some confusion since when the positive energy from Ranma's female persona was released, she was clearly alive. Both seem to share Ranma's memories, but seem separated from them.
  • Hanyuu (also known as Oyashiro-sama) from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Although she contributes to the ominous atmosphere in the first season, once she actually appears onscreen, she's revealed to be more of a Moe Spirit Advisor who fits this trope perfectly. Until the final chapter.
  • Kana from the manga My Lovely Ghost Kana. She "haunts" the apartment that protagonist Daikichi moves into at the beginning of the story, and quickly goes from Pretty Freeloader to Magical Girlfriend when she discovers, to everyone's surprise, that she and Daikichi can physically interact.
  • Ichiko from Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru. She's actually an Ill Girl who once was in love with Mizuho's dead mother, and after dying she kept haunting the room they shared at their boarding school.
  • Misao from Asura Cryin. Though she's not actually a ghost ghost, she's close enough.
    • Everyone who has an Asura Machina also has one.
  • Arashi and Kaja from Natsu no Arashi!. While they actually are ghost girls, to the uninformed, they display no signs of actually being dead. Later on, another two girls called Kanako and Yayoi are introduced, and are revealed to be ghosts as well
  • Mitsu from Honey Crush, the main character.
  • One of the cast of Di Gi Charat Nyo! is one of these. Her name is Yurei.[1]
  • Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat finds the girls helping one who has the Ghostly Goal of learning to ride a bicycle—she apparently needed and failed to for a part when she was a child actress in life. It's not outright revealed that she's a ghost until the end of the episode, but there's mention of the studio being haunted beforehand that might lead the viewer to suspect.
  • Omiyo from Keroro Gunsou. In one chapter, she has Fuyuki examine a photo for possible ghosts, which is hardly the strangest thing that happens in the house.
  • Kagome meets one of them in Inuyasha. The girl's name was Mayu Ikeda, her little brother Satoru was Souta's best friend and was in the hospital, and Mayu herself died in a fire (the same one that left Satoru hospitalised) after a huge fight with her mom, thus her spirit was poisoned by hate and anger and couldn't rest in peace. Kagome has to save her from going to Hell due to her rage.
  • Chapter 29 of Ai Kora has Maeda and Shibusawa hunting one down: Maeda's interest is piqued when he finds the ghost girl has a really sexy back. Seriously, he's just that kind of guy.
  • "Ghost Princess" Perona from One Piece is an interesting variation. She isn't dead, but she has the power to leave her body as well as create various ghosts to attack with.
  • Kuroha from Rental Magica, who is also the series' Innocent Fanservice Girl.
  • A few in Urusei Yatsura, all of whom Ataru flirts with. Nagisa is the most notable, being a Wholesome Crossdresser and thus a gender flipped version. The cast figures out that he's a boy only because Ataru and Mendou start to wonder why they're not flirting with Nagisa. He soon gets a physical form and romantically pursues fellow crossdresser Ryunosuke, his fiancee.
  • Mayoi Hachikuji of Bakemonogatari. The fact that she's a ghost is only ever mentioned in one episode.
  • Alice McCoy of Digimon Tamers might be one—it's never made clear whether or not she's dead.
  • Koko wa Greenwood had a one-episode character of a girl who died prior to getting to date and is determined to have a good date before she passes on. She has so much fun that she decides to stick around at the end of the episode.
  • Jolokia-tan in Habanero-tan. It's a Stealth Pun, as naga jolokia is also known as "ghost pepper".
  • Clannad has Fuko Ibuki who, despite not actually being dead, is still not exactly... well, basically, the real Fuko Ibuki is in a coma, while her "ghost" of sorts is running around at the school. For a time, Tomoya refuses to believe it, thinking that it must be someone else claiming to be her, but it ends up being true. Thanks to the Cosmic Reset, however, she gets better.
  • Okinu from Ghost Sweeper Mikami. She comes back to life eventually, since her lifeless body is found uncorrupted and still in use..
  • The Zashiki Warashi that lives in Japan's home in Axis Powers Hetalia. It's all but stated that she and the Kappa have to leave, though, since Japan cannot see them anymore.
  • Yuuko Kanoe from Dusk Maiden of Amnesia, although she has a scarier aspect.
  • Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba has Tanjiro meeting two of these early in the story. Actually, a girl and a boy. They're Makomo (the girl) and Sabito (the guy), who help him through his training to pass the deadly Final Selection to become a Demon Slayer. He doesn't find out that they're ghosts until later, but in the Final Selection itself he finds the demon who killed them and slays him.

Comic Books[]

  • Young Justice had Secret, a sweet and naive ghost girl who showed up in a prequel issue and stuck around.
  • The eponymous ghost in Anyas Ghost is a nice, polite little spirit, wearing an old-fashioned dress and poofy 'dandelion' hair. Of course, she's not quite so lovable after she goes all Yandere on Anya...

Film[]

Literature[]

  • Alice from The Ghost Who Ate Chocolate.
  • Bones of Faerie: The main character, Liza, has her baby sister come back as a shadowy ghost.
  • Madison Avery: Main character, Madison, is a ghost and fairly cute (to some readers) to most people.
  • In The Lovely Bones, as well as The Book Of The Movie, the main character becomes this early on. As this is the focus of the book, more attention than usual is paid to the fact that she's a ghost.
  • Moaning Myrtle.
    • As well as the Grey Lady.
  • Jane Thayer's Gus Was a Friendly Ghost series is a rare male example. Gus seems to have always "lived" in the attic of an old house (later converted to a museum), and the people he interacts with have no real trouble accepting him as a roommate.
  • The Choose Your Own Adventure books that deal with the supernatural feature some of these like Margaret, Annie (maybe) or Margaret's Evil Twin (save for one ending) Emily from The Mystery of the Highland Crest and Yayoi from Secret of the Ninja. If either of these girls show up and try to either tell you something or ask you for help, you better pay attention and do as they tell you.

Live-Action TV[]

  • Thelma in Hex is a prime example of this character type.
  • Komachi from Madan Senki Ryukendo. She's a ghost that only Kenji can see most of the time, and when she temporarily regains her body in one episode, she ends up faceplanting into the wall, since she can't walk through it anymore.
  • Annie from Being Human (UK). The fact that she is a ghost is brought up a bit more often than average, seeing as how the whole premise is "monsters as roommates," but in a lot of her scenes she's just a normal female roommate who happens to be dead. And she definitely counts as cute.
  • Kyra in The Outer Limits episode The Beholder, though she was an alien that was "out of phase".
    • Another episode has a woman's experiment leave her disembodied and her body in a coma. This being Outer Limits, she totally dies for real by the end, as does her husband who is trying to get the machine to restore her. It's made as un-depressing as such an ending can be - unusual for The Outer Limits, which almost always went for It Got Worse - by having them appear in spirit form and reunite, before vanishing for parts unknown but seeming optimistic about it.
  • Sarah Collins on Dark Shadows first appeared as a ghost, mostly to young David Collins, and in fact became his friend. The few other people she appeared to usually thought that she was just a regular little girl (budgetary constraints of the show prevented her usually looking particularly "ghostly" aside from her late-eighteenth century attire.) She was cute (if sometimes annoying, pretty much constantly accompanied by her theme music, "London Bridge," and usually bouncing a toy ball) and was also later instrumental in helping Maggie Evans escape from Barnabas Collins, Sarah's cursed vampire brother.

Music[]

Cquote1

I lean to touch her and I whisper
But not brave enough to kiss her
When I held her I was really holding air

Cquote2


Video Games[]

  • D from Trace Memory. He manages to freak Ashley out at first, since she'd never seen a ghost before, but after that, he's basically harmless and just wants to move on.
  • Several of the ghosts in Luigis Mansion straddle the line between this and Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl.
  • Since it covers a lot of Cute Monster Girls, Touhou naturally has a few, with the ghost princess Yuyuko Saigyouji being the most famous one. Her Battle Butler, Youmu Konpaku, is half-ghost (don't ask how that works).
    • Same way as in Exalted?
    • It should be noted that Youmu actually is afraid of ghosts.
    • Undefined Fantastic Object adds in Captain Minamitsu Murasa.
    • Long unseen fan favorite Mima has a ghost tail, but she's only referred to as an evil spirit, which may or may not make her an actual ghost.
    • Though classed as poltergeists rather than ghosts, the Prismriver Sisters could count too. Same for Kana Anaberal.
    • Ten Desires adds in Soga no Tojiko.
  • Pamela from Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, Atelier Iris 3 and Mana Khemia: Alchemists of Al-Revis. She's harmless (mostly), but she does make a hobby of scaring the freshmen during summer break in her Mana Khemia incarnation.
  • Colleen in Touch Detective 2 1/2.
  • In The Legend of Zelda Spirit Tracks, Princess Zelda herself spends most of the game in this form.
  • In Mitsumete Knight, Anne is heavy implied to be one due to her backstory and her ending.
  • Lolita Goth from The Sims 3, who is also prone to Wild Mass Guessing. She's not in the Goth family tree, but she's arguably one of the favorites in the game.
  • Maya Amano's ghost-girl in Persona 2. She's the most adorable little girl as a human, but admit it, the sailor outfit is twice as precious in 'transparent blue'.
  • In My Sims, you might get to see a Cute Ghost Girl named Cassandra wandering around town. She is also the only source of the rare Ghost essence, which she'll drop if you be nice to her. Oddly enough, you can plant a Ghost essence and it'll grow into a Ghost tree that drops more Ghost essences.
    • And in The Sims 3, you can get a (male) ghost to have sex with one of your (female) sims, then having a 50% chance of having a ghost kid as one of your sims. You can also make them have kids with another ghost, but for that you'll need some cheating...
  • One of the playable characters in the Puyo Puyo series is Yu, an energetic ghost girl. Later games pair her up with her twin brother Rei, who, while not nearly as energetic as his sister, is just as cute and harmless.
  • Hsien-Ko/Leilei from Darkstalkers. Technically, she's a Chinese hopping zombie.
  • Tales of Monkey Island: Morgan LeFlay in Chapter 5.
  • Rosalia from Trauma Team.
  • The "antagonist" of the Night of the Werehog short. She might as well be the average Genki Girl with a ghost tail slapped on for kicks. She was the subject of fan obsession for a while, although it was diminished due to the fact that she does not actually appear in the game. She had a hobby of collecting pictures of scared visitors to her mansion.
  • In Spooky's House of Jump Scares, Spooky herself and some of her… tenants.

Web Comics[]

  • Unlike Minerva has Nina, the library ghost who is mildly fixated on the protagonist Brisbane. It's left ambiguous, though, as to whether she's actually a ghost or if she just grew up in the crawlspaces of the library.
  • A few of these show up in Minus.
  • Don't Look It Sucks has Tero, which upon dying shortly after being introduced, turns into a ghost. The cast don't seem to mind much that she's a ghost. Tero, herself, is still afraid of dying.
  • Shion from Experimental Comic Kotone goes one step further, actually being able to pass for living...when she remembers to use doors.
  • Bryony, the deceased sister of Bear and Patches, more or less fits this trope in Catena. Most of the cast isn't actually able to see Bryony for quite some time. She's actually an angel (complete with pink wings).
  • Aradia Megido of Homestuck. She started out as a regular ghost, but then she got a robot body to posses. Later, she becomes alive again.
    • Subverted to in that she isn't really especially cute at the time and her only feelings in life come from small moments of happiness when she breaks stuff. Her former boyfriend mentions how annoying she's become lately. This too gets better.
      • And of course all of the female players who die and are still in dream bubbles, and Jadesprite to an extent.
  • Athena in the Remix Comic version of Jet Dream is a strange magical figure who only appears to Harmony. She doesn't look especially "ghostly," perhaps due to the author's apparent confusion over whether Athena is the goddess of wisdom and warfare or a "ghost girl warrior of olden times."

Western Animation[]

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