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Rikku2 4167

Dressed for kicking ass, while showing hers off.

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Jerry Lawler: "Whoever she is, I like what she's not wearing!"
Coach: "...the crowd seems delighted."
Jim Ross: "That woman can fight!"

—Mickie James debuts, Monday Night Raw
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A Fan Service trope, where Action Girls wear short, above-the-knees skirts.

This is a great way to show off her long legs, but the anticipation of getting an eyeful underneath is also welcomed, despite the bruises that might come from trying to sneak a peek. Sometimes, it doesn't have to be a skirt—it could be a minidress, a miniskirt, or a torn-apart garment that conveniently serves as a skirt. In addition, getting a Panty Shot isn't always guaranteed, but it can compensate by including Zettai Ryouiki, Stocking Filler or Thigh-High Boots, to further emphasize the legs.

A skirt qualifies as dangerously short if it's high above the knees, prone to swirling aside (despite physics saying otherwise) and appears tight enough to ride up for a Panty Shot. Being an Action Girl is an added bonus, and a common subversion is to have her as a Faux Action Girl or a Neutral Female.

This trope does make a tiny bit of sense: if you're wearing a tight skirt into combat, you'd want it to be pretty short. The longer it is, the more it'll restrict your leg movements. However, wearing a looser, longer skirt would work just as well, as many Sukeban titles have proven.

Sub-Trope of She's Got Legs, Stocking Filler and Zettai Ryouiki.

No real life examples, please; we'd be here all day.

Examples of Dangerously-Short Skirt include:


Anime and Manga[]

  • Yuri Nakamura, Kanade Tachibana, Shiina and Yui from Angel Beats!
  • Beet the Vandel Buster has Milfa wears micro-miniskirts, Poala as well.
  • This regularly shows up in Bleach:
    • Tier Harribel, after she goes One-Winged Angel, dons a more stripperific outfit which leads this.
    • Loly Aivirrne qualifies by wearing a schoolgirl-themed skirt despite being an Arrancar.
    • Rangiku Matsumoto enjoys wearing one when she's in the human world.
    • Lisa Yadomaru wore both a ruffled miniskirt as a lieutenant, and a schoolgirl skirt as a Visored. She's fought in both outfits.
    • Riruka Dokugamine sports a minidress, but surprised fans (who thought of her as a Faux Action Girl) by being a gun-toting Combat Pragmatist.
    • Ying and Yang, the Bodyguard Babes of Kusaka in the second movie, wear and fight in schoolgirl-type skirts.
    • Rukia Kuchiki one kicked Shrieker in the jaw while wearing a school uniform. The skirts' length is even lampshaded by Kon when he looks up at her after she kicks him to the ground.
    • Orihime Inoue wears one in the tenth opening theme song, called Shojo S. She also wears a schoolgirl uniform, complete with Zettai Ryouiki following the Time Skip.
    • Cirucci Sanderwicci wears a gothic lolita-style dress. Pesche Guatiche even tried to take a peek since her skirt was so high up.
    • Even Senna isn't exempt from such a fashion choice, but she's never fought while in it.
    • Homura from the third movie has her Shihakusho modified in such a way that the lower half is turned into a miniskirt. Like Senna, Homura herself never fights in it.
    • When Nelliel turns back into her adult form, her clothes don't change with her leaving a cropped top and a miniskirt.
    • Nemu Kurotsuchi wears a very tiny miniskirt.
    • Nozomi Kujo from the Invading Army filler arc.
  • Lenalee of D.Gray-man wears one with Modesty Shorts underneath.
  • Anri's skirt in Durarara!! is ridiculously short.
  • FLCL. Mamimi Samejima wears one of these, but she's not an Action Girl.
  • Fresh Precure has Cure Peach and Cure Berry.
  • Mobile Suit Gundam 00 has Louise Halevy, in the second season. She almost qualified as a Dark Action Girl, though.
  • In Hellsing, Seras Victoria has a short miniskirt, but only one Panty Shot.
  • Highschool of the Dead is a famous example, where every Action Girl has a skirt.
  • Any of the girls in Ikki Tousen.
  • Kagome Higurashi's school uniform from Inuyasha.
  • Similarly, the female Ashford Academy uniforms in Code Geass.
  • Togame in Katanagatari has a very short ripped-up skirt.
  • In the anime version of Love Hina, Motoko wore a school uniform with Girlish Pigtails, slight Zettai Ryouiki and a Dangerously-Short Skirt while holding a book. However, she doesn't get to fight in it, and it's used against her by the resident Clingy Jealous Girl, who seduced her while disguised as Naru as part of a Batman Gambit.
  • Running absolutely rampant in Mahou Sensei Negima, where about 98% of the female characters wear them.
  • Ino Yamanaka on Naruto has a short skirt, and while she's proved herself to be an Actiongirl, she wears bandages under it. Temari (who's more like a Lady of War) could qualify as this as well, with all but one of the outfits she's worn that's incorporated a short skirt.
  • One Piece has this as one of Nami's outfits. Robin also qualifies, particularly when she wore Thigh-High Boots and a Nice Hat.
  • Pokémon anime has Dawn and her very short skirt, but the danger level is low due to her Pokémon doing most of the fighting rather than Dawn herself.
  • Queen's Blade has Captain Liliana.
  • In Rosario + Vampire, this is the source of much of the Fan Service in the anime. A Dangerously Short Skirt is apparently required by the dress code. At one point, the Moral Guardians attempt to require all female students wear much longer skirts (ankle length), which fails due to intense opposition from the students.
  • In Sailor Moon, the sailor scout superhero uniforms qualify. Rei Hino's school skirt also qualifies.
  • Shakugan no Shana has the eponymous Shana.
  • Zakuro, from Tokyo Mew Mew.
  • Dark Magician Girl from Yu-Gi-Oh!.
  • Yumekui Merry
    • The eponymous Merry Nightmare wears such a skirt.
    • Isana is another one, but she's far from an Action Girl.
  • In Dance in the Vampire Bund, Mina wears one.
  • Agnese Sanctis from A Certain Magical Index, which is strange considering that she's a nun and she gets really offended if someone looks up her skirt.
  • In Soul Eater, Maka's skirt doesn't leave much to the imagination.

Comic Books[]

  • Supergirl. With or without Modesty Shorts, Depending on the Writer.
  • Shazam: Mary Marvel
  • Rachel Summers from the X-Men, after she took up her mother's mantle as Marvel Girl. She wore a version of her mother's green miniskirt costume (slightly modified to fit current fashions, since the dress didn't age well from the 60's).

Music[]

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I pick all my skirts to be a little too... sexy.

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Toys[]

  • Monster High has Draculaura, Clawdeen Wolf and Abbey Bominable. Since the franchise is targeted at kids, all three have Magic Skirts.

Troper Works[]

Video Games[]

Web Original[]

  • An exaggerated version is conversed in the Urban Dictionary article on miniskirts.
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A skirt that is at least 1 inch shorter than one's finger tips.

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Put your hands at your sides, if your finger tips can touch your thigh, you're in a mini.

Western Animation[]