MacGuffin Girl: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''"They made you human. But you are not like them. You are mine, {{spoiler|Shauni}}... and I am going to kill the human part of you!"''|''[[Beyond Good & Evil (video game)|Beyond Good and Evil]]''}}

 

 

The plot where the [[MacGuffin|object that everyone is looking for]] turns out to have been [[Humanity Ensues|transformed into a girl]] (with the occasional variation of being a [[Robot Girl]]). It's usually (but not always) a girl, and is usually associated with several of the following tropes or plot elements:

Compare [[Spaceship Girl]], which could lead to similar stories, but in practice almost never does, and [[Barrier Maiden]] / [[Apocalypse Maiden]] who is often just as objectified while being wholly human. Likewise, characters who are being sought after merely because they are a [[Everything's Better with Princesses|lost princess]], or an [[Phlebotinum Rebel|escaped lab experiment]], etc., are generally not treated this way, but as [[The President's Daughter]]. Though the princess may be, if her [[Royal Blood]] has magical properties.

 

 

Please do not include characters who are titled like objects (light, key, hope, etc.) but are not objects.

 

 

 

* In ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' (anime only), Chibi-Chibi is Galaxia's star seed. Oddly, this uses almost none of the usual MacGuffin Girl plot.

** In the manga, she's an [[Super-Deformed|extra shrunk down version]] of Sailor Moon from the ''far'' future (we're talking farther than Crystal Tokyo, here.)

* The girl in ''[[Wolf's Rain]]'', Cheza, is actually a flower from the moon. The wolves already knew or were told what she was from her scent.

* Meifon Li, the main character of ''[[Angel Links]]'', turns out to be an android superweapon.

* In the ''[[World of Warcraft]]''-based ''Sunwell Trilogy'' manga, {{spoiler|Anveena is the Sunwell, made into human form. She also [[Interspecies Romance|falls in love]] with Kalecgos, a shapeshifted [[Our Dragons Are Different|blue dragon]].}} See the video game entry below for more details.

** Done again in ''[[Fresh Pretty Cure]]'' -- {{spoiler|in episode 34, Chiffon turns out to be Infinity}}.

* Reverie Metherlence in ''[[Elemental Gelade]]'' is the MacGuffin Girl sought after by many as the key to something. Unfortunately, the show was so derivative nobody can remember what it was all about.

* ''[[Noein]]'' has Haruka, who manages to be this and the main character, despite this normally being impossible. Haruka is the Dragon Torque, a kind of god-like quantum manipulation program/artifact that can be used to alter reality, and which is thus essential to both [[Shangri La|Shangri-La's]] plan of [[Instrumentality]] and to La'Cryma's plan to render themselves impervious to Shangri-La's attacks. In fact, from La'Cryma's point of view, Haruka's whole world is simply data in a computer, an elaborate construct of programming, and thusly they have no problem with seeking to "reconfigure" Haruka into something they can use in their own quantum manipulating computers, even though this will, from Haruka's point of view, kill her. Ultimately, she manages to use her nature as the Dragon Torque to manipulate reality so as to {{spoiler|defeat Noein and then remove the power from herself, rendering the Dragon Torque back into a theoretical concept and herself into an ordinary human girl}}.

* The second season of ''[[Darker than Black]]'' uses this quite a bit. "Izanami" and "Izanagi" ({{spoiler|Yin and Shion}}) are somehow centrally related to the Gate, and several different groups wind up trying to find them for [[Melee a Trois|their own reasons]]. However, thanks to a [[Gainax Ending]] of ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''-like [[Mind Screw|proportions]], exactly what this means isn't clear even after the [[Grand Finale]].

* Al-Azif is the grimoire in ''[[Demonbane]]''. Doesn't follow most of the standard plotlines, though I've only seen a little of the series.

* In ''[[Serial Experiments Lain]]'', the titular character Lain is {{spoiler|the container for Protocol 7}}, which is sought after by several competing groups.

* In ''[[Kyou Kara Maou]]'', the keys to opening the [[Sealed Evil in a Can]] are Conrad's right arm, Gwendal's left eye, Wolfram's heart, and Yuuri's soul. With the [[Journey to The Centre of The Mind|exception of the last]], using them as keys stops them working (which is a big problem for Wolfram).

** Perhaps even more appropriate is Index herself. She allegedly have every book and tome of spells inside her head, something that many people would love to get their hands on. They tell her that she herself cannot use these spells but that is a lie, they just didn't want a mage who has access to every spell in existence as a potential enemy. Given that the title of the series is named after her, this plot point is bound to be even more important later on.

* Tima, the [[Robot Girl]] from ''Metropolis'' meets almost every one of the requirements at some point in the plot.

 

* ''[[Men in Black (film)|Men in Black]] 2'' has a similar aversion. {{spoiler|Laura Vasquez}} is "the Light of Zartha", which ''sounds'' like an object, but there's no sign that she actually is one. It was probably just figurative. She does seem to be the heir.

* The female lead in ''[[Stardust (film)|Stardust]]'', Yvaine, is actually a star in human form, sought by several people for various reasons. If she crosses the border between the magical world and the mundane world, she will turn into stardust and die.

* The protagonist's love interest in [[Dragon Wars]] is actually the key to helping the [[Big Good|good dragon]] attain his full powers. {{spoiler|She sacrifices herself to give him his powers and let him beat the evil dragon. And no, she doesn't get better. Either a downer ending or a bittersweet one, YMMV.}}

 

* Yvaine from ''[[Stardust (novel)|Stardust]]'' is the fallen star that the potential heirs to the throne, the witch trio, and the protagonist ''all'' need to retrieve. Of course, we know she's a star right from her introduction, and so does everybody else. The hero was a little slow on the uptake.

* A variation occurs in [[Terry Brooks]]' novel ''The Elfstones of [[Shannara]]'', where everyone knows that [[The Chosen One]], Amberle, is the [[MacGuffin]], but they (and specifically the protagonist) don't know that {{spoiler|she will turn into the Ellcrys tree}}, satisfying the rest of the trope along the way.

* An unsual twist on the trope appears in Meredith Ann Pierce's ''Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood''{{spoiler|1=—the MacGuffin (a living cutting, taken by the antagonist, from the [[Wise Tree]] who turns out to be the [[Big Good]] of the story) is [[Nature Hero|Hannah]], the protagonist}}. In this case, being functionally near-human is unexpected, irreversible, and works in her favor.

* Inverted in the ''[[Xanth]]'' novel ''A Crewel Lye'', which featured a hunt for Millie the Ghost's body, or more accurately, the object into which it had been transformed.

 

* {{spoiler|Princess Astra}} in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' story "[[Doctor Who/Recap/S16/E06 The Armageddon Factor|The Armageddon Factor]]" is the sixth segment of the Key to Time. The similarity was widely commented on when the ''Buffy'' episode came out. "The Doctor's Wife," in series 6 of the new series, turns {{spoiler|The Tardis}} into the macguffin girl. The episode follows the trope's usual pattern to a tee, with the only divergence being that she knows who she is from the start; she just doesn't explain it right away.

* [[Batman (TV series)|Batman TV series]]: A meta example, [http://tothebatpoles.blogspot.com/2011/09/batscholar-on-episodes-3-4.html this blog] explains that the first few episodes (like ''"Fine Feathered Finks/The Penguin's a Jinx"'') were lifted directly from the comics. Those episode’s story was taken from a February 1965 Penguin comic. The only marked difference was that Penguin attempts to steal the [[MacGuffin|giant jeweled meteorite that is only mentioned in the show]]. Dawn Robbins does not appear in the comic story. It was easier and cheaper to kidnap the girl than create a meteorite for television, so the writers introduced Dawn Robbins.

 

* {{spoiler|Luvbi}} in ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'' is {{spoiler|a Pure Heart who has been transformed into a Nimbi princess}}.

** No, it really doesn't. But hopefully that will be explained in the sequel!

* Linear Cannon (yes, that's her name) from the ''Evolution Series''/''Evolution Worlds'' is a [[Robot Girl]] who is [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old]], and she's the superweapon that everyone is after, Evolutia, the ultimate Cyframe. As it turns out, she can become something of the trueform of the item at her own will. {{spoiler|And she does so to resurrect [[The Hero|Mag Launcher]], after he's killed by the first [[Big Bad]], Eugene Leopold.}}

* ''[[Mega Man Battle Network]]'' has its own MacGuffin Girl in the sixth game, where it turns out that {{spoiler|Iris is really a Navi, whose special ability is controlling electronics. She's hunted by WWW so that she can control the [[Sealed Evil in a Can|Cybeasts]].}}

* Anveena from ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' is the Sunwell in human form, a font of magical power strong enough to sustain the elven people's magic addiction. She falls in love with Kalecgos in the ''Sunwell Trilogy'' manga (see above), but in the Glory of the Sunwell content patch, {{spoiler|she [[Heroic Sacrifice|sacrifices herself]] to weaken [[Big Bad|Kil'jaeden]] enough for him to be banished from the Sunwell. However, his defeat allows the Sunwell to be restored.}}

* Played with to a great extent in the [[Interactive Fiction]] game ''Wishbringer'': The title stone turns out to be {{spoiler|the cat you're supposed to rescue, Chaos}}. Besides not being human, the "girl" is already in [[MacGuffin]] form and you have to make the choice to restore her to life. Also somewhat inverted, as [[All There in the Manual|according to the backstory]], the wishbringer stone is the heart of princess, turned to stone from being denied love.

* {{spoiler|Sophie}} in ''[[Tales of Graces]]'' is {{spoiler|an [[Energy Being]] and the only one who can completely destroy the [[Big Bad]], though she would be destroyed as well. Naturally, the [[Evil Genius]] [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|only sees her as a means to get rid of the]] [[Big Bad]], but the heroes see her as a human being.}}

* {{spoiler|Pandora}} in ''[[God of War (series)|God of War]] 3''.

* Cortana, the AI hologram-woman in ''[[Halo]]''. [[The Hero|Master Chief]] has to protect her because of all the information she has, though she functions more like a partner than a plot device. She's mostly like [[Mission Control]], except that she happens to live in his head.

* {{spoiler|Girl Stinky}} in ''[[Video Game/Sam And Max|Sam And Max]] Beyond Time and Space'' is revealed in the final episode to actually be {{spoiler|the Cake of the Damned}}.

* All the sisters from [[Turgor]] are this. {{spoiler|Especially after Aya reveals that they are not souls of people, they are souls of an era of mankind, and who you choose to ascend will directly affect the entirety of the surface world.}}

 

* Bottle Women in ''[[Order of Tales]]'' (for, although only one appears in the comic, there have been several before her) fit the trope right from the start. They're made, not born, and the one featured in the story is the [[Last of Her Kind]] because her creator, who is now dead, was the last person alive who knew the secret of making them; the story kicks off with the need to keep the [[Big Bad]] from getting his hands on her. {{spoiler|It's because the thing that gives him his power is an unbreakable sword, and the liquid inside the Bottle Woman that gives her life is the only substance that can break it; if he has her, she can't be used against him}}.

 

* ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]'' has Annie, an amnesiac whom Robin falls for. It's revealed that she is merely a portion of Clayface, who later "murders" her by re-absorbing her.

* ''[[Code Lyoko]]'' has probably the best example of this, as the [[Ridiculously-Human Robots|Ridiculously Human A.I.]] Aelita is a [[MacGuffin]] to the bad guy, and a girl to the good guys. Of course, [[Laser-Guided Amnesia|she's not really an A.I]]. Which, in the end, makes it an [[Inverted Trope]]: {{spoiler|1=Aelita was a real girl transformed into a MacGuffin by her first virtualization.}}

* {{spoiler|Raven}} of the ''[[Teen Titans (animation)|Teen Titans]]'' TV series is [[The Reveal|later shown]] to be {{spoiler|the living embodiment of a dimensional gateway called the "Gem" through which her father, the evil Trigan, can pass through to escape imprisonment and resume his plan to take over all of the known universe. Once learning this, the other Titans go to great lengths to protect her and prevent this from happening, but Raven herself ultimately performs the ritual to become the portal, thinking her friends would all die because of her otherwise.}} Naturally, {{spoiler|she got better.}}

* In the pilot episode of [[Rainbow Brite]] Wisp is looking for the sphere of light. Turns out it's {{spoiler|the baby.}}

 

* ''[[Digimon Tamers]]'' features the male {{spoiler|Calumon, the embodiment of [[Evolutionary Levels|digivolution]] hidden in the form of a Digimon to hide it from the program-turned-[[Eldritch Abomination]] that is the embodiment of the [[Reset Button]].}}

* {{spoiler|Clear}} from ''[[Final Fantasy Unlimited]]'' turned out to be {{spoiler|the heart of the monster Omega}}.

* Nagisa Kaoru in ''[[Neon Genesis Evangelion]]''. He is essentially required to [[Apocalypse How|unite humanity]] in the way SEELE wants. {{spoiler|He chooses not to.}}

 

* The comic book version of ''[[W.I.T.C.H.]]'' features Caleb, the hero who is {{spoiler|actually a Murmurer/Whisperer made human. The [[Big Bad]] punishes him by reverting him to a flower.}} Series Caleb is human, though.

 

* ''The Marvelous [[Land of Oz]]'' has a truly weird example: the [[MacGuffin]], Ozma, [[Living MacGuffin|was a girl to begin with]], and {{spoiler|she was transformed [[Gender Bender|into the boy Tip]]}}.

 

** Although having them offed in their true forms kind of averted "death". At least, [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|as far as the censors are concerned.]]

** In one of the mecha cases, {{spoiler|Animus reverts to human child form to give a [[Final Speech]] and then dissolve. All onscreen and unambiguous}}. How did they [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|get away with]] that one?

 

* ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' twisted this entire issue on its head in Original Generation 2 with Helios Olympus {{spoiler|also known as Gilliam Yeager.}} The Shadow Mirrors need Helios to serve as the core for their transporter device, but never succeed in capturing him nor coming close. [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|Even when he attacks their ''base of operations'' with only Sanger and Ratsel backing him up.]]

** Saying "only Sanger and Ratsel" is like saying "only a nuclear bomb".

* Ventus from ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' is ''literally'' a Mac Guffin Guy. He and Vanitas are two halves of the same person that, when put back together, form the deadly X-Blade that the villain of the game has been looking for. Naturally, the villain knew who Ven was, and had [[Xanatos Roulette|plotted all this from the start]].

 

* [http://www.squidi.net/comic/amd/view.php?series=amd&ep=1&id=318 This strip] of ''[[A Modest Destiny]]'': {{spoiler|The Fourth Jewel is actually Maxim, the protagonist.}}

 

* In ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'', {{spoiler|both Alpha and Epsilon, the two AI incarnates of Private Church, are being pursued by people for various reasons. Wash wants Epsilon's memories as proof of the Director's treachery. The Meta wants Alpha to amplify his powers, but after being [[Brought Down to Normal]], he wants Epsilon just to restore them. Carolina apparently needs Alpha's help to kill the Director, but she finds Epsilon instead, mistaking him for the true Alpha.}}

 

* In book 10 of the ''Avalon Web of Magic'' children's book series, the true form of shapeshifting creature Indi is {{spoiler|a power crystal known as the Heart of Avalon.}}

* In Hexwood by Dyan Wynne Jones {{spoiler|the much sought after Bannus turns out to be the robot Yam}}

 

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Unisex Tropes]]

[[Category:Women Are Delicate]]