Boisterous Bruiser

This trope is OUTRAGEOUS, old chum!
"IT IS GOOD DAY TO BE GIANT MAN!"
—The Heavy, Team Fortress 2

A common character in RPGs and action shows, the Boisterous Bruiser is a fun guy to be around. He will often be part of an ensemble and will most likely be The Big Guy in a Five-Man Band, although he tends to be a bit more boisterous than the usual archetype who plays that role. If he's not The Idiot From Osaka, he will at least tend to act bumpkin-ish and crude. If he's as dumb as he is big, he will at least have had enough life experience to dispense sage and world-wise advice to the Kid Hero whenever he needs it.

He (and this character is almost always a "he", though in exceptional cases can be a "she") will usually not be part of a formal army (as he hates authority, unless he's serving under the Kid Hero). Instead, he'll often be a mercenary-for-hire or the leader of a band of thieves. Or the leader of a band of pirates. Or the leader of a rag-tag rebel army. Or all four at once. If he's an Anime character, he will inevitably have a Kansai Regional Accent, and will often be Hot-Blooded. He's like a really obnoxious but likable Supporting Leader. He's almost always a Large Ham.

He may start out as an antagonist or as some kind of obstacle to our heroes, but he will usually be charmed into joining the heroes' side after witnessing their courage and determination (or he may just decide to throw in with them on a whim or if they both have a mutual enemy).

If he happens to be some sort of formal ruler or king, he will act in an extremely informal way. He will also tend to be loud, firebrash, filled with bravado, and (if it's a live-action production) played by Brian Blessed.

He will spend most of his off-time at the tavern, partying hard, knocking back tankards of ale or cups of sake, and getting into fights. The Straight Man, The Smart Guy and The Chick will find him annoying, but everyone else will think he's a total hoot. His tales of his prowess can be a little exaggerated, but those who assume he is all talk will have a surprise coming. He tends to laugh often, and is rather fond of giving rookies a hard time or playfully patting weaker characters on the back with enough force to send them flying across the room. (The Naive Newcomer may not realize his strength because he does not looks like a bodybuilder; Stout Strength is common.) He might show affection through bone-crushing Bear Hugs.

He will rub a lot of people the wrong way, but he's such a good fighter that most of his comrades will tolerate his foibles. He will usually pull Tank Duty if he's part of an RPG combat party and in large formal battles, he will often split off from the main party and start mowing down enemies by the hundreds (an action which may or may not anger his superiors). But there's really no telling him what to do. He plays fast and free by his own rules and most people are okay with him (although they'd be even more okay with him if he drank less, stopped getting into fights, didn't leave his dirty laundry everywhere, and stopped hurling insults at people).

If his melancholies are as gigantic as his mirths, see also Emotional Bruiser. If someone has the size and personality without the fighting skills, see Big Fun. Compare the Friendly Sniper, who is similar but with Improbable Aiming Skills instead of physical strength. Also compare his less macho counterpart, the Keet.

Examples of Boisterous Bruiser include:

Anime & Manga

  • Fullmetal Alchemist: Alex Louis Armstrong: "Boisterous bruising is a perfected Art that has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!"
  • Zhang Fei from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms anime. true to the source material, he's a fierce, hotheaded warrior and loyal to a fault. He was also renowned for his bad temper and constant drunkenness.
  • Ikki Tousen has three:
    • Zhang Fei's "reincarnation" Ekitoku Chouhi. Hot-Blooded Tsundere? Check. Very loyal and devoted to Kan'u (Guan Yu) and Ryuubi (Liu Bei)? Check. Skilled Action Girl (apparently Heir to the Dojo)? Check. A Big Eater (since she's a schoolgirl and can't get drunk)? Check. Fight happy? VERY BIG CHECK. And not only that, we're talking about a female.
    • Kakouton Genjou (Xiahou Dun)
    • And the main character herself, Sonsaku Hakufu (Sun Ce).
  • Koihime Musou: Zhang Fei's lolicious incarnation Rinrin.
  • Though all the Gundam Fighters in G Gundam are rather hot-blooded and fight-happy, the closest to a typical Boisterous Bruiser would be the impulsive Chibodee Crockett from Neo-America. Argo Gulskii from Neo-Russia also counts, in a The Quiet One way: in his own words, since he's a prisoner of the Government, all he has left is Gundam Fighting.
  • Bleach haves us many:
    • Zaraki Kenpachi is one big guy who is too fight-happy. And yet, he has a lot of wisdom when it comes to battle. No wonder people love him. He's one Badass Boisterous Bruiser.
    • Grimmjow Jaeggerjagues, who is basically the Espada equivalent to Zaraki (only less insane and more sadistic).
    • Ganju Shiba and his older sister Kuukaku. It Runs in The Family.
  • Mahou Sensei Negima! has Jack Rakan, a total Idiot Hero who spends most of his time thinking up absurd finishing moves for Negi, telling stories about how incredibly powerful he is, making up totally inaccurate power level charts, making up ridiculous training techniques off the top of his head, and attempting to extort insane amounts of money for his services. Of course, the fact that he was a member of Ala Rubra gives him more than enough experience and power to be a valuable asset to Negi anyway. Plus, his training somehow allowed Negi to obtain Black Magic.
    • And there's a female example too: Yuuna Akashi, specially after she makes a Pactio with Negi and gains a nice set of guns as her artifact.
  • Gunnm/Battle Angel Alita
    • In the Last Order storyline, one of the finest examples of Boisterous Bruiser in Zekka, a Karate Master of Masters who fills out this trope to a T, down to the laid-back pose when not fighting while drinking a beer... lots of beer, though commanding enough respect among the martial artists of the solar system to have them come in droves simply because he's there.
    • Sechs from the same series is undoubtedly an example too, hence his immediate rivalry with Zekka.
    • From the original series, Figure Four, Alita's Love Interest, certainly counts too.
  • In Rurouni Kenshin, Sanosuke Sagara fills exactly this trope. Hotblooded, loud-mouthed, battle-loving, and very, very strong.
  • The Slayers have Prince Philionell of Sailune: portly, mustached, black-haired, somewhat bandit-like looking man who claims to be a pacifist, but is a fight-happy parody of a Paladin (and he's also the Bumbling Dad to Amelia, the local Moe Moe character who's also a powerful magic user and a lovable justice freak).

Prince Phil: Pacifist Crush! Kindness to All Creatures Kick!

  • Tasuki and Nuriko of Fushigi Yuugi more or less split these qualities down the middle. As the hard-drinking, Kansai-accented, hot blooded bandit leader with a heart of gold, Tasuki is the more classical example, while Nuriko has the fun-loving attitude and Big Guy-level of Super Strength. Both are quite capable of Large Ham moments, and their tendency to bicker and squabble is a reliable source of comic relief.
  • Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann has Kamina. Simon noted that even though he's incredibly Hot-Blooded, he's never really displayed any hatred during a battle, and even laughs a lot.
  • Aisha Clanclan of the Outlaw Star, the rude loud mouth Big Girl that contrasts with Suzuka's cultured The Quiet One. Notable that, like Chouhi and Hakufu from Ikki Tousen, she's one of the few female examples.
  • Thorkell the Tall of Vinland Saga could be considered the ultimate Boisterous Bruiser. He's the Big Guy, the Blood Knight, and a walking Crowning Moment of Awesome all rolled into one.
  • Kyoutarou Ooshima, the "young chief" from Gokusen.
  • The manga Sanctuary has Mr. Tokai, who becomes a Heroic Sociopath Yakuza version of the Boisterous Bruiser after his Heel Face Turn.
  • Mino Nenki and Jousuke the Rubber Man from Basilisk.
  • Axis Powers Hetalia ha five:
    • America. He's very eager to smash the Axis Powers, indeed.
    • Finland, a Badass Adorable who at some point really wants to go to war and almost cries when his more cautious partner Sweden bans him and his troops from doing so.
    • Turkey very eager to pick fights with Greece and is the current incarnation of what used to be the Ottoman Empire...
    • Hungary is a female example, considering how eager she was to beat up Prussia for Austria's sake in the Seven Years War and the Slasher Smile she had while getting ready to do so.

Hungary: Seize his vital regions... seize his vital regions... Crush Prussia! Crush Prussia!

    • Ancient Rome, too. He was the Roman Empire, after all, and his appearances have him as a pretty jolly fellow whom Germania chastises for always thinking about fighting, getting drunk, and having one-night stands. Even more confirmed by his starry-eyed reaction to Spartacus's rebellion.
  • Hachigorou from the baseball manga Stripe Blue, being a gigantic loudmouth and all. He also, oddly enough, appears to be an Expy of Babe Ruth, being a fat pitcher who prides himself on his strong batting and calls home runs.
  • Gino Weinberg aka Knight of Three from Code Geass. He's cheerful, exuberant, naive, with No Sense of Personal Space (which leads to quite a bit of Ho Yay with Suzaku) and if you pay close attention to his lines, you realize that he's spouting rather bloodthirsty rhetoric (he still wishes that Britannia was an evil, racist fascist nation) - while smiling like a kid and cracking jokes.
  • Hajime no Ippo
    • Takeshi "Naniwa Tiger/Rocky of Naniwa" Sendoh.
    • Mamoru Takamura and Takuma Saeki, too.
  • Slam Dunk
    • Another sportsman example: Hanamichi Sakuragi. And this is the main character, mind you.
    • Also, Nobunaga Kiyota and Sakuragi's gangster friends.
  • Satsuki Gokajo, the female gym teacher of Happy Lesson, whose idea of a lullaby is something along the lines of: "Go to sleep or I'll kick your ass".
  • Thick-as-a-brick Otawara from Eyeshield 21. Constantly sporting a dopey smile, this guy clearly doesn't know how not to have a good time.
    • And let's not forget Heracles and Gao. While Ootawara is the dumb, crude, cheerful type, Heracles is the wise bumpkin type, and Gao is the "admires guts" type.
  • GaoGaiGar has quite a few Hot-Blooded characters, but the only one to fit this is Goldymarg.
  • Pokémon
    • Ash's Buizel. It belonged first to Dawn, and then she traded it to Ash in exchange for his Aipom because of Buizel's love for battle.
    • Among trainers, there are several boisterous bruisers too. The most famous are Chuck, Byron, Morrison and Chuck's student Arena Tycoon Greta.
  • Gate Keepers brings us Choutarou "Bancho" Banba, a man so endearingly Hot-Blooded (and genuinely powerful) that he somehow makes it into AEGIS without displaying any overt Gate Keeper abilities Until almost the end. Which also helps him get a girlfriend.. Or being able to keep the "Gate Keeper" terminology straight. All but unchallenged as the most fun character in the series.
  • One Piece
    • An outright evil variant with Blackbeard. He's gluttonous, idealistic, cheerful, protective of his crew, and very fun to be around. He just happens to also be a ruthless pirate captain who killed a comrade for a Devil Fruit.
    • As well as the main character himself, Monkey D. Luffy. Very loud, very cheerful, and incredibly idealistic, wherever he goes you can be assured either a fight or a party is bound to break out, sometimes even both. As for those around him, everyone he meets is either a friend or an enemy, there's really no middle ground when Luffy is concerned. Hell, he sometimes makes friends OUT of former enemies, his boisterous, likable nature is so strong.
    • Then there's Luffy's grandfather, Vice-Admiral Garp, a barrel-chested Cool Old Guy who loves fighting as much as he loves giving his grandson a big ol' hug. With "hug" actually meaning a punch in the face.
    • The Giants of Elbaph are all Boisterous Bruisers.
  • Ryo Ishizaki and Hiroshi Jitou from Captain Tsubasa are sport-oriented versions. Come to think of it, main character Tsubasa counts as a more innocent, slightly less energetic but still idealistic and determined version.
  • Takeshi Momoshiro and Takashi Kawamura (in "Burn" mode) from The Prince of Tennis.
  • While the G Gundam Boisterous Bruisers are unmistakably on the side of good, Gundam 00 gives us four antagonistic examples and an Anti-Hero one. The Anti Hero is Hallelujah, the Super-Powered Evil Side of Gundam Meister Allelujah Haptism, who is normally The Quiet One but becomes this when his Split Personality takes over. The antagonists are: Graham Aker aka Mister Bushido - though he has a Heel Face Turn later, Ali Al-Saachez (to Nightmare Fuel and Complete Monster extents), Blood Knight Michael Trinity of the Gundam Thrones, and Dark Action Girl Hilling Care.
  • Yu Yu Hakusho
    • Chuu is pretty much a textbook version of this trope. He's by far the tallest guy Yusuke hangs out with, he drinks like a fish and only becomes that much stronger when he does it. Helped by who voiced him as well.
    • Jin and Kuwabara count, too.
  • Kurz Weber from Full Metal Panic!. He's a real fun-loving guy who usually can't live out his antics without getting smacked by Mao.

Kurz: This is Urzu 6, I'm in firing position. It's time to party!! (starts sniping)

  • Elfman from Fairy Tail is this, and attributes it to his being an awesome man. Natsu also counts.
  • Soul Eater: Black*Star
  • Naruto
    • A female example with the fiery, Badass Anko Mitarashi.
    • Naruto himself and Rock Lee may count, to some degree.
    • Also Kiba, and maybe Might Guy.
  • Arnage of Huckebein from Magical Record Lyrical Nanoha Force is another female example. She's loud, brash, rude, and is both a big and messy eater. Oh, and she dual-wields a pair of BFGs, one of which is essentially two gatling guns strapped together. Never enough dakka.
  • Kagura of Azumanga Daioh.
  • Jackie Gudelhian and Bleed Kaga in Future GPX Cyber Formula are another sports-oriented versions of this. In Kaga's case, however, it gets toned down in the later OVAs, starting from the ZERO arc.
  • Zenmaru Ichinose is this for the Ogame Ryuu in Gamaran. The Tengen Ryuu has Junnosuke, who seems just like this.... until we learn that the last time he fought he was so crazed that he raped and killed a girl just for looking at him.
  • Thor from Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple has elements of this. The dude is a big, honor-bound sumo wrestler whose dream is to spread sumo as a beloved sport throughout Japan and believes heavily in the power of friendship.
  • Goku has mellowed out somewhat over the course of DragonBallZ , but he loves fighting, and is just as excited when he's losing a fight as when he's winning one, to the point where the Gods granted him a favor and reincarnated the insanely boisterous Kid Buu as a good human so that Goku could train him up to protect the world, as well as getting another opportunity to fight him again.
    • At the end of the Saiyan Saga, Goku had Krillin allow Vegeta (who at the time was still quite evil and had just tried to wipe out all life on Earth) to escape, because Vegeta was the strongest person Goku had ever met and he wanted to fight him again someday.
  • In Saint Beast, Gai is always most eager to fight and show off. He also tends to take things less seriously than the others.


Comic Books

  • Guy Gardner of the Green Lantern Corps and Justice League International used to be the team Jerkass, but he got some Character Development and now he's a Boisterous Bruiser.
  • Hercules is usually portrayed this way in the Marvel Universe (especially during his tenure in The Avengers). Notably, on one occasion he beat a supervillain to a pulp, went to a bar, got merrily drunk, and sang a song about how thoroughly he had beaten the bad guy. The bad guy then sued him for use of excessive force, with a video of the song used in evidence. Herc of course started singing along in the courtroom, and tried to get everyone else to join in. Hercules cheerfully bankrupted himself paying the damages, and then went off and got a job as a construction worker to pay his day-to-day bills. He then won (some of) his riches back in a poker game.
  • Another Avengers-specific example is Hank McCoy, the Beast, who was significantly more of a party animal and bruiser during those days than the mannered, cerebral Gentle Giant he developed into after rejoining the X-Men. Shortly after Wonder Man returned to life, Hank went to visit him and instantly regressed into his Avengers persona. Apparently his friendship with Simon brings out this side of him.
  • Similar to Beast, a third (and female) Avengers example could be She Hulk. Her solo series is usually more well-balanced, but when she's in a team environment, her fun-loving brawler side gets all the play.
  • And let us not forget Volstagg the Voluminous, one of the Warriors Three who oft accompany The Mighty Thor on his adventures.
  • Dare we leave Lobo out of the list? He might find a new use for that hook of his if we do.
  • Zap gun for hire Buck Godot is an ideal example.
  • Hulk often takes this role when forced on a team; the Joe Fixit incarnation is practically the avatar of this trope.
  • The Thing used to play this trope in earlier Fantastic Four comics, and there are still traces in him now and again. Like whenever IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!
  • In the Marvel Apes miniseries, the super-ape called Ape X was the epitome of this trope.
  • In the First Flight Alpha Flight special, St Elmo was one of these.
  • Destruction (a.k.a. The Prodigal) of the Endless.
  • Immortal Iron Fist series:
    • Fat Cobra. A gigantic, cheerful, ass-kicking machine, who more than lives up to both halves of his name and has wenches for every occasion. Fat Cobra has also proven himself against every other famous big bawdy guy in his universe, defeating Hercules, Volstagg, and Goom in an otherworldly eating contest. (As any Thor reader knows, beating Volstagg in an eating contest is Beyond the Impossible territory.)
    • There's also Dog Brother #1, who once told a tale of slaughter and victory so delightful it brought a smile to the face of Arrogant Kung Fu Guy Davos the Steel Phoenix.
  • Snowflame, for all of his one-issue existence. Boisterous Bruiser-hood is more or less inevitable when you're a supervillain who derives superhuman strength from snorting cocaine.
  • Luke Cage aka Power Man never avoids a fight and loves to punctuate every punch with a little trash talk.
  • Guido, a.k.a. Strong Guy turned this into a form of art when he joined X-Factor.
  • One of those female Bruisers is Plourr Illo from the X Wing Series comics. She's a pilot, but the Bruiser-ness shows much more clearly when she's on the ground. She's mildly insulting to her wingmates, big and muscular, and loves fighting. At one point a teammate tells her that they're trying to keep a low profile, and she says "I'll make you a deal. I won't beat on any of the resident scum unless they hit me first--or they pick on my friends--or I feel like it!" "Fair enough," her teammate says. She's also a princess with a backstory and arc inspired by the myth of Anastasia, but this doesn't damp her down.
  • Sin City: Marv, though he only seems to be chipper when he's perpetrating or planning violence. Mickey Rourke, the actor who plays Marv in the movie, was said to have "lumbered into the room practically taking out the door jamb", according to Frank Miller, and he wrote down the single note: "Met Mickey Rourke. He IS Marv."
  • In the regrettably short-lived Topps revival of Jack Kirby's unused Secret City Saga storyline, this was Bombast's entire personality. Literally, being very powerful and very histrionic are pretty much all there is to him; he's a Hurler, whose arms are like hydraulic catapults that can launch anything with impossible speed and force, and he tends towards loud and grandiose verbiage. How cool is Bombast? When he awakens in modern Chicago, he's scouted as a pitcher for the Cubs and it's remarked he could easily win them a championship singlehandedly.
  • Lucky Luke
    • Calamity Jane is portrayed this way. In her first story, the villain's bodyguard says he can't enter an arm wrestling contest with her because she's a woman, but after hearing her grawlix-ridden response comes to the conclusion she's not actually a woman. (He doesn't stand a chance, of course.)
    • The album L'Artiste-peintre has Lucky Luke acting as bodyguard for famous Wild West painter Frederic Remington, whom by all account was a real-life example of this trope. He's a Big Eater who can devour 18 turkeys in one go (and asks for dessert). At least, when entering a saloon, he's polite enough to (loudly) asks whether the fight starts before or after the drinking. Oh, and telling him that painting is a woman's activity will inspire a hearty laugh, a mention that his parents always told him so... and a punch in the face.
  • The Golden Age (later revealed as Earth-2) Superman was one of these, in contrast to the Silver Age/Earth-1 Superman. This is a particularly funny (though justified) example of Characterization Marches On, as Post-Crisis Superman is a Gentle Giant who would probably have a heart attack at the sight of someone as strong as he is slugging people with such merry abandon.
  • Vandal Savage is hardly one of these in the contemporary DC Universe; however, Demon Knights, set in medieval times, casts him as a wandering immortal who hasn't quite turned towards world domination but is still plenty happy to get his violence on. Take when the tavern he and his friends are staying is beset by dinosaurs:

Excellent! I haven't eaten one of these in centuries!


Fan Works


Films -- Animation


Films -- Live-Action

  • Dablone, the loud, laughing leader of the underground gang in Mystery Science Theater 3000 Show #705, Escape 2000. Mike and the Bots nickname him "Toblerone", after the Swiss candy bar.
  • Antaeus the bully bandit from Hercules Unchained, featured in Mystery Science Theater 3000. At one point Crow even wishes that he was on the heroes' side, since he seemed a lot more fun than the real hero, Hercules (who seemed to spend most of the movie either sleeping or acting like a total crab).
  • Brian Blessed as Prince Vultan in Flash Gordon. (Diiiiiiiive!!)
  • Every character that Alan Hale Sr. did. His son Alan Hale Jr. did this as well early in his career. But as he aged he was casted more and more as a villain. Which is why he took the role of the Skipper in Gilligan's Island , he was tired of playing bad guys.
  • Kikuchiyo, the farmer's son turned would-be samurai in the movie Seven Samurai. Double points by being played by Toshiro Mifune, of all people.
  • The Sheikh in Ben-Hur. Manages to dodge being an Ethnic Scrappy because he's just so delightful.
  • Sheik Amar, played by Alfred Molina, plays this type of character in Prince of Persia the Sands of Time.
  • Boss Nass, the Gungan head honcho from Star Wars Episode I. His booming voice and seizure-like expressions of displeasure make him more expressive than most of the human cast. (Not surprisingly, his voice was provided by the one and only Brian Blessed!) The one dent in his Boisterous Bruiser-ness is that he didn't make good on his promise to kill Jar-Jar if he ever returned. The funny thing is, Boss Nass isn't even supposed to be one at first. He's a strict, xenophobic no-nonsense ruler with little patience, who eventually had a change of heart when he realizes he's misjudged the race he despises, and becomes friendly and joyful. It's only by virtue of being played by Brian Blessed! that he becomes a boisterous bruiser, even in the scenes where he's supposed to be a humorless jerk.
  • Willow
    • Madmartigan, whenever he wasn't being a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
    • The two Brownies following Willow are about ankle-high (to a halfling) but otherwise perfect examples.
  • Mace Windu, the number two Jedi on the Council (who first appeared in The Phantom Menace) qualified. He loved to fight, and given the tempting nature of the Dark Side, this was a dangerous trait for a Jedi to have; as a result, he studied favored Form VII (also known as Juyo or Vaapad) a very difficult and hard to use school of swordplay, that allowed near-unmatched mental discipline and lightsaber control. His concentration was such that he was even able to use certain Dark Side techniques, like Force Crush, without succumbing to the temptation. However, he was clearly the exception, not the rule.
  • Ray Jackson, played by Donald "Ogre" Gibb, in the immortal Van Damme opus FilmBlood Sport.
  • For Your Eyes Only and Colombo, arguably a thinner version of the character. Played by Topol.
  • Wayne Westerberg, played by Vince Vaughn in Into the Wild.
  • Liam Neeson's character in Krull. Also Robbie Coltrane's character.
  • Gimli, son of Gloin, as portrayed by John Rhys-Davies in the film version of The Lord of the Rings.
  • Ray Winstone as Bors in the otherwise lame King Arthur (2004) film. Cheerful, savage, so many children he just gives them numbers... Ray Stevenson was also awesome as Dagonet. Heck, all the knights were like this to some extent, apart from Tristan and Arthur himself. The scenes with them cracking jokes at each other are easily the best parts of the movie.
  • From Outlander, the loud and frequently inebriated Boromir.
  • About half the cast of The 13th Warrior. In something of an inversion they generally approach combat with absolute seriousness.
  • The Good Viking Boltar (played by Victor McLaglen) in the 1954 film of Prince Valiant.
  • Raven in Cecil B. Demented is a combination of Boisterous Bruiser, Badass Adorable, Perky Goth, and Cloudcuckoolander, among others I'm probably forgetting.
  • Bruce Campbell's character in My Name Is Bruce is like this when he's in action hero mode. His civilian identity is more of a Jerkass, although he improves with Character Development.
  • You could argue that El Indio from For a Few Dollars More is a deconstruction of this trope. He laughs all the time, hugs his friends a lot, is enthusiastic and boisterous and runs a band of plucky outlaws out to rob an impenetrable bank against all the odds—but he's a depraved child-murdering, stalking rapist and his band are all implied to be similarly bad. His happy laughing face gets on his Wanted Poster, but he also has a much more evil, violent side to him which causes him to turn on his own men. Lastly, his good moods seem almost maniacal, and are probably induced with drugs.
  • Tuco from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, on the other hand...
  • Thor again in The Return of The Incredible Hulk. He boasts of learning to be subtle after he sees off someone who is looking for Dr. Banner using subterfuge. This is what he considers subterfuge:

Jack McGee: I'm looking for a man...
Thor: (interrupting) You have found one!
Jack McGee: This is a particular man.
Thor: Oh, I am a particular man... and I do not like your face.

Literature

  • Tulkas from The Silmarillion.
  • Little John from the Robin Hood books, movies, cartoons, ...
  • Lord Raoul from Tamora Pierce's Tortall Universe is a good example of this, although his intellectual prowess is sharper than a number of examples listed.
  • King Smoit from Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles.
  • A Song of Ice and Fire features a good number of them:
  • Garrick from Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight.
  • Rubeus Hagrid from the Harry Potter series. Played by the aforementioned Robbie Coltrane in the movies. In fact, Coltrane was the very first actor cast.
  • Prince Fencewallker of Tailchaser's Song is described as being "Full of rough good humor, and an affection for sudden, surprising shoves that sent companions tumbling."
  • Discworld
    • Nanny Ogg might very well be a female version of the trope.
    • Whereas Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully is a straightforward example, partially subverted in that the other wizards never seem to appreciate how much fun he can be.
    • Monstrous Regiment's Sergeant Jackrum. Also a female example, as it turns out...
    • The Nac Mac Feegle, however....
  • In the Tales of the Fox series by Harry Turtledove, Gerin's companion Van is a loud, lusty giant of a man who loves a good fight and sings joyful war songs in battle, has endless tall tales of his traveling days (some of them true, maybe), wears gilded armor that often gets him mistaken for a visiting war god, and of course he's also a player.
    • The Tales of the Fox series isn't the only work of Turtledove's that features a Boisterous Bruiser. Viridovix from "The Videssos Cycle" also counts for this: a Celtic chieftain before his entrance to Videssos, he's a charming man, a strong warrior, enjoys battle, and carries one of the two primary Macguffins of the series, and in many respects is a rival to the protagonist.
  • Tazendra from the Khaavren series. As a Porthos {{expy}{ (see below), she's not as smart as Khaavren or Aerich (but quite smart about sorcery), she's frequently described as living life to the fullest, and is never happier than when in battle.
  • Ma Joong, Judge Dee's former highwayman enforcer, expert boxer and cheerful womanizer.
  • Subverted by Big Tom from the Warlock series by Christopher Stasheff: while he appears to embody this trope, it turns out that he is in fact highly educated and possesses a doctorate in theology.
  • Porthos, in The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask. Also true for most movie and TV incarnations (even the Disney film adaptation got this right). Has been played by both Brian Blessed and John Rhys-Davies.
  • Alcibiades, from Plato's Symposium. As far as can be known from the sources regarding his character and actions, he was a real life example of the trope as well.
  • Mat from The Wheel of Time is quieter than the average Boisterous Bruiser and is just tall instead of big, being that he's The Strategist rather than The Big Guy. However he makes up with that by being a shameless flirt, gambler and generally spends all the time he can in various taverns.
  • Zagloba from Henryk Sienkiewicz's Trilogy.
    • In fact, Trilogy has once been described as "The Three Musketeers meet Falstaff".
  • Alexandre-Benoît Bérurier in the French police series San-Antonio is another textbook example.
  • Conan the Barbarian, at least in Robert E. Howard's original short stories.
  • Randall Patrick McMurphy from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was pretty much designed to be this trope. The entire book is about how important this type of person is.
  • Emmett Cullen from Twilight could count—he's definitely The Big Guy of the family, literally and figuratively, and he's an all around jovial and jolly guy to be around.
  • John Browdie in Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens, a big, jolly Yorkshireman with an impenetrable accent.
  • Gunner Dennis Silva of the USS Walker fits this to a T in Taylor Anderson's Destroyermen series.
  • King Arthur's cousin Culhwch in The Warlord Chronicles is pretty much a textbook example of this trope. Bernard Cornwell seems to think Boisterous Bruisers make good sidekicks. He's not wrong.
    • Also, Owain from the first book is a much less moral and more mercenary example.
  • Amos Trask from The Riftwar Cycle. Classic pirate example.
  • Jack Aubrey is a big, normally cheerful guy who likes food, pretty women, and making dreadful puns. However, as a captain in the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars, he has to work within the system more than is usual for this trope.
  • Gurney Halleck in Dune, well, sorta... kinda... somewhat.
  • Treasure Island has two: Long John Silver (Arr!) and Squire Trelawney.
  • President Armelio, from {{It's Kind of a Funny Story.
  • Squire Western of Tom Jones is one of these, a boisterous guy who likes booze and bloody roast beef and loves to crack dirty jokes. Played in the A&E version by Brian Blessed himself.
  • Firebead in George Macdonald Fraser's The Pyrates is a (semi-)villainous example. He hates honest men, honest work and civilization; he loves whoring, drinking and fighting. And setting his beard on fire.
  • José Arcadio Buendía Jr. (when done Walking the Earth) and Aureliano Segundo from One Hundred Years of Solitude.
  • Rider from Fate/Zero novel. Aside from taking books from the local library and walking slowly away ("I am not a thief, I refuse to run"), shoving his Master around all the time, wanting to purchase a couple of stealth bombers for his world conquest, and considering Bill Clinton (the incumbent U.S. president during Fourth Grail War) to be a Worthy Opponent. He also attempts to rally most of the heroes to his banner.
  • Classic Chinese literature is in love with this trope, probably because the description of a Boisterous Bruiser is a perfect foil to the equally common gentleman scholar archetype:
  • Antillar Maximus of the Codex Alera, the bastard son of a HighLord and a loud, cheerful Handsome Lech capable of throwing around huge amounts of magic... or just punching you into the next country. Though as it happens, there's a darker reason for his party animal antics: his stepmother sees him as a threat to his half-brother Crassus, and has been trying to kill him for years. He doesn't think he'll live to reach middle age.
  • Nozdryov from Dead Souls is a deconstruction of this trope.
  • Starlight and Shadows trilogy by Elaine Cunningham gives us "genial ship's captain with a taste for recreational mayhem", pirate Hrolf 'the Unruly',.
  • Rocky, talking gorilla, best friend of J!m and rock and roller in Go Mutants.
  • In the Flashman series, Flashman's father Buckley is kind of a darker take on this. As detailed the spin-off novel Black Ajax and in the main series, Buckley was born into new money and made his name as a Blood Knight war hero (he was nicknamed "Mad Buck") before hitting it off with the movers and shakers in high society and like his son, had a continuing taste for booze and wenches. Along the way, he lost much of his fortune through bad investments, and from Flashman's narration seems to have become a kind of sour, bad tempered man. Fairly early in the Flashman books, his alcoholism got so bad that he ended up with Delirium tremens and was placed in an asylum and is basically forgotten by his son. While there, Buckley enjoys smuggled liquor and the occasional prostitute on the sly, but is mostly a drunken wreck whose only real consolation is that his son has become successful and (he thinks) a genuine hero.
    • Flashman also runs into plenty of examples in his army career, what with it being the 19th century British Empire and all. He (almost) universally detests them, as their danger-philic ways not only display a lack of regard for their own hides but more importantly a lack of regard for Flashman's, which is a cardinal sin to him.
  • The eponymous Villain Protagonist of Barry Lyndon is sort of a deconstruction of the trope, as the novel is basically a pastiche of 18th century novels, which means that Barry could be thought of as "what Tom Jones would be like if he was evil". Barry pursued social advancement through underhanded means (including becoming a Sociopathic Soldier, a cardsharper, and police spy) but describes himself at his prime as being the toast of society and generous and open-hearted, with the flaw of being unable to resist the charm of a beautiful woman. Even assuming this is true, Barry is also a wife-beater and serial adulterer who squandered his wife's fortune and at the time he narrates, is in debtor's prison and in seriously bad health as a result of his earlier hedonism.
  • Death Star gunnery chief Tenn Graneet is this before Despayre and Alderaan—then the guilt sets in.
  • Twilight the great gray owl from Guardians of Ga'Hoole. He's the biggest and most powerful of the Chaw Of Chaws, a great Warrior Poet...and fights for justice!
  • Lieutenant Panga in Someone Elses War.


Live-Action TV

  • King Robert Baratheon from Game of Thrones. Although age has only left the party animal and took the great warrior away.
  • Blackadder:
  • Firefly
    • Jayne Cobb seems to epitomize this trope when he's in a good mood.
    • Monty the smuggler also fits. "I shaved MY BEARD off for you, you devil woman!!!"
    • Sir Warrick Harrow manages to be a smart, sophisticated Boisterous Bruiser. With an Indoor Voice. He makes up for it with double the big-goofy-mentor-figure value.
  • Speaking of Adam Baldwin, Casey from Chuck can occasionally fit in here.
  • Sam Axe, played by the immortal Bruce Campbell, in Burn Notice. Semi-subverted in that Sam is actually just as smart as Michael and Fi, and his supposed dumbness is Obfuscating Stupidity.
  • Silas in Highlander the Series; played by Richard Ridings.
  • Momotaros in Kamen Rider Den-O.
    • Kintaros is an even better example. Burly, strong, speaks in a Kansai accent, and is easily the most friendly and personable of the four.
  • Gentarou, the eponymous Kamen Rider Fourze.
  • Prince Arthur from Merlin, as he often bullies the titular Merlin, especially in the beginning of the series.
  • Richard the Lionheart was portrayed this way in Robin of Sherwood.
  • Francis Lawrence "Larry" Kubiac III from Parker Lewis Can't Lose.
  • B.A. Baracus (Mr. T) of The A-Team.
  • In Doctor Who, The Doctor has run into a few of these fellows over the years. Notably Bandito Arturo Villa in "The War Games" and King Ycranos (inevitably, he's played by Brian Blessed) in "Mindwarp".
    • Don't forget Time Lord Omega from "The Three Doctors."
    • Full time companion Donna Noble is one of the female examples. "Oi, sunshine!"
  • Mr. (Isaiah) Edwards from Little House On the Prairie is this trope personified. The books made him that way too, using a variant of the folk song Ol' Dan Tucker as his theme.
  • The titular character in Sledge Hammer!, so much so he talks to his gun, and in his first appearance took care of a sniper by blowing up the building under him.


Music

  • Every Time I Die's "We'rewolf". Loud, rude, downright crude at times, but fun and surprisingly reflective at others. It helps that the video features the band being victimized by a werewolf and, shortly after, becoming rock 'n' rolling werewolves themselves. And then they crash a party...
  • Shane McGowan of The Pogues used to be one of these, but then his lifestyle caught up with him. Today, he's seen as a walking cautionary tale. Other Celtic Punk bands carrying on in The Pogues' footsteps, however, are all about this trope.
    • The Dreadnoughts' song "Fire Marshall Willy" is all about one of these. Willy is the ultimate party animal.
  • Many of Korpiklaani's songs give this kind of vibe, with their loud, exuberant energy and frequent lyrical focus on alcohol.


Mythology and Religion

  • King Arthur's adoptive brother Kay in Arthurian Legends.
  • Several thunder gods fall into this trope. Thor, Perun, and Susano no Mikoto fit the mold very well. Zeus is a Boisterous Bruiser that got married—I mean, his idea of subtlety is turning his paramour into a conspicuous white heifer. Thunder gods that are also the head of their pantheon tend to have been Boisterous Bruisers before they obtained some kind of (frequently literal) font of wisdom.
  • In Norse Mythology, in addition to Thor, Aegir has a bit of this too. He lives in a giant feasthall at the bottom of the sea and spends all his time entertaining the souls of drowned sailors.
  • Older Than Feudalism: Heracles of Greek Mythology.
  • Ajax in The Iliad as well.
  • Sharik from the Russian fairytale. His sister was abducted by a dragon, and her other brothers went to him first, trying to get her back. Said dragon lives in a big house that awes the brothers, serves them "food" of brass and iron which they can't eat naturally and "offers" them to give the sister back if they manage to destroy a huge log without either axe or fire. Which they can't, naturally, so he kills them. Enter Sharik, who mocks the "poor hut" of the dragon, eats all of the "food" and complains he doesn't get more, destroys the log with his little finger and his breath, then kills the dragon and revives the other brothers. Happy End.


Pro Wrestling

  • WWE's Santino Marella is a comically-inept Boisterous Bruiser Funny Italian.
  • Stone Cold Steve Austin is a more serious example. Loud, willing to fight anyone, and a easily-angered Texan, the fans loved how "the Rattlesnake" seemingly couldn't finish a promo without giving someone a stunner.
  • "Rowdy Roddy Piper" is probably the best example of the Boisterous Bruiser in Professional Wrestling. Damn near every edition of his infamous interview segment "Piper's Pit" ended with him beating down the person he was interviewing, or at least starting a fight with them.
  • The Big Show is perhaps the ultimate example in wrestling.


Tabletop Games

  • Warhammer 40,000 has a number of examples:
    • First, there's the Space Wolves—a Space Marine chapter made up of Norsemen from space. As such, they tend to have a roaring good time on the battlefield, then kick back in the feasting hall and enjoy some ale with their pet dire wolves. Their current leader Logan Grimnar is one of the few unquestionably heroic individuals in the setting, while their founder was the legendary Leman Russ, who challenged the Emperor of Mankind (widely viewed as a god incarnate) to a Drinking Contest. (He won easily, but the Emperor got fed up and KO'd Russ with a Power Fist. Russ would claim the headache that followed was simply a hangover.)
      • Note the 'Trickster' index link down there- the latest codex introduced Space Wolf special character Lukas the Trickster, basically their very own Loki.
    • Then there's da Orks, an entire, galaxy-spanning species of this trope that are so numerous they could easily destroy every other faction if they didn't enjoy fighting each other so much. Brutally effective in battle, equivalent to a fully armoured Space Marine in close combat and capable of building equipment for an entire army from scrap, they also consider dakka, choppa and spikey bits to be the most important tools for war and won't hesitate to charge a tank with nothing but an axe and bits of leather strapped to them. Occasionally an especially large and powerful Warboss (though the two tend to be interchangeable, as Orks determine rank via size) will assemble enough boyz to lead a WAAAGH!, an intestellar campaign resembling a mass migration, looting party, holy war and pub crawl, with the occasional bit of genocide, though the nature of this trope will inevitably cause it to distintegrate into internecine fighting, which is just fine with them, as it means more people to fight.
  • Dungeons & Dragons
    • The Greyhawk setting has Kord the Battlelord, the god of Boisterous Bruisers. Kord's main religious rituals include wrestling, killing evil monsters, and bragging about wrestling heavily-armed evil monsters to death in a tavern afterwards.
    • King Boranel of Breland, in the Eberron setting, was one of these in his younger days. His coronation involved pulling him out of a gambling hall, he led from the front during the Last War, he's been married three times and (according to the Eberron Wiki) has eleven children, he spent some time as a treasure hunter in Xen'drik, and he keeps two pet magebred ghost tigers.
    • There's a good chance that any half-orc that shows up in D&D who isn't a bloodthirsty savage falls into this character type.
    • The Goliath in 3rd and 4th are a whole RACE of these.
  • The Pathfinder core setting has its own equivalent of Kord: Cayden Cailean, whose epithet is "The Drunken Hero." He was a mortal mercenary who ascended to godhood as a consequence of a dare he accepted during an evening of partying (he doesn't remember the exact means by which he accomplished this), and currently reigns as the Chaotic Good deity of adventurers, freedom, and alcoholic beverages. According to the source book, his life as both mortal and god consisted of "fighting for just causes, enjoying various alcohols, and not doing anything he didn't want to do."
  • Iron Kingdoms. Borka Kegslayer is an eight-foot tall trollkin shaman of the fertility goddess, Dhunia, and is also the embodiment of this trope. He has sired so many children from so many different women that he's lost track of them all; he once freed an entire tribe of enslaved pygmy trolls, all of whom then immediately swore enternal loyalty to him and now act as his personal beer keg carriers (he always has them follow him into battle, in case he gets thirsty); and has killed so many enemies that he has become a house hold name for just about every kriel (clan) in the northern hemisphere.


Theater


Video Games

  • The Super Mario Bros has plenty of these:
    • Bowser acts as one in games where he joins with the heroes. Hell, he plays this role even as a villain.
    • And there's-a also-a Wario! Especially apparent in his Wario Land sub-series.
    • O'Chunks is a cross between this and Dumb Muscle. But he's adorable.
  • Simon Belmont, the protagonist of the original Castlevania. Something of a gloryhound and Attention Whore, he didn't take his family's sacred mission as serious as he should have, and made a lot of mistakes in his battle with Dracula that resulted in him being struck with a curse. His demeanor took a more serious turn in his efforts to lift it.
  • Suikoden games usually have this.
    • Viktor is the original Suikoden Boisterous Bruiser. He comes back for the second installment.
    • The third game's Boisterous Bruiser is probably... Geddoe's sai-wielding henchman Ace.
    • The fourth one has a slightly more serious, but still Boisterous Bruiser King Lino en Kuldes.
    • And for the fifth game... General Boz Wilde.
      • Also, Wilhelm of the Lindurm Mercenaries.
  • Black Whirlwind from Jade Empire; also a good example of the Ax Crazy.
  • One of the oddest examples is in Warcraft 3, or more accurately, its expansion. The Pit Lord Hero is a giant centaur demon who initially seems like a standard evil villain. However, his "pissed" quotes (which Blizzard RTS characters will recite when clicked enough times) show him to actually be a Boisterous Bruiser—with lines like "You know what burns my ass? A flame about this high." and "This situation calls for some... finesse.... GRAAAAAGH!"
    • Seems to be shaping up to be the hat of the recently-announced pandaren in WoW.
  • Minsc of the Baldurs Gate series—a towering (especially for his homeland), boisterous, but childlike berserker whose solution to any problem is to charge straight into the thick of things with battlecries like "Evil, meet my sword! Sword! Meet! Evil!" and "Buttkicking for goodness!" Any intelligent thoughts he has are attributed to his pet hamster, Boo, who he claims is really a "miniature giant space hamster" (possibly a reference to Spelljammer, the infamous Dungeons & Dragons IN SPACE supplement that actually had Giant Space Hamsters). Many other characters express exasperation with his antics, suggesting he get restorative magic for his head. The player can show exasperation, affection, or a combination of both where he starts off counseling prudence before being ground down to joining in on the festivities by the end. He has proven incredibly popular with players, however, and become somewhat emblematic of the series.
    • Minsc is played by Jim Cummings, who is for all intents and purposes the voice-acting version of Brian Blessed.
    • Also from the Baldur's Gate games is Korgan Bloodaxe, essantially the evil equivalent to Minsc. A psychotic, Violent Glaswegian dwarf and phrases like "This be a grand enough lot! Mayhap I won't be needin' to kill ye all anytime soon!" Korgan sexually harasses other party members (particularly a very virtuous halfling warrior who finds him repulsive), gives terrible advice, and has the lowest charisma score in the game, but supplies some pretty funny dialogue, and, of all potential NPC party members, is easily the best fighter. (At least until Throne Of Bhaal, when Sarevok takes the crown.)
  • Khelgar Ironfist from Neverwinter Nights 2. A dwarf who aspires to be a monk because he likes to punch stuff and joins your party because you seem good at getting into fights.
  • Oghren from Dragon Age fits fairly well too, being a drunken, boisterous sot and, besides Sten, one of the main tank fighters in the game. However, the game somewhat deconstructs the trope, as his tendencies have more or less ruined his life. He somewhat shapes up by the time the expansion rolls around, but only somewhat (or what else would the player character be there for?).
  • Gears of War gives us Private Augustus Cole, NUMBER EIGHTY-THREE...THE COLLLLLLLLLEEEEEE TRAAAAAIIIIINNNNN!!!!
  • Gibari from the Baten Kaitos series; moreso in the first game (which is the second chronologically), where he's older and has more life experience.
  • Kyle from Lunar: The Silver Star. In the remake, he also briefly becomes a rather ugly Wholesome Crossdresser to fool other bandits. His brash mannerisms don't sit very well with his Tsundere girlfriend Jessica.
  • Both Barret Wallace and Cid Highwind embrace this trope in Final Fantasy VII
    • Wakka from Final Fantasy X, and to a lesser extent, Jecht.
    • Sabin in Final Fantasy VI. "You think a minor thing like the end of the world was gonna do me in?"
    • In particular, Jecht's appearance in Dissidia Final Fantasy makes him look like he inhaled a whole bag of cocaine at once.
    • Cid Pollendina of Final Fantasy IV might just be the textbook Final Fantasy example. He's a big, bearded, fun-loving Cool Old Guy, and the only thing he likes more than going on adventures and fighting monsters is building airships. Oh, and depending on the game, he's either 54 or 71 years old.
    • Don't forget Zell of Final Fantasy VIII. The guy never holds still for a second, and is the party's Bare-Fisted Monk. His personality has, more or less, two settings: Cheerful Loud, and Angry Loud.
    • Baku, the leader of the Thieves' Guild from Final Fantasy IX. The bounty hunter Lani is a villainous example, even being described as "Boisterous Woman" before we learn her name.
    • General Zazarg from the Treasures of Aht Urhgan and Wings of the Goddess expansions of Final Fantasy XI lives to be on the battlefield, generally laughing as he lets loose his weapon skills. Not ironically, he is one of the player base's favorite characters.
    • Snow from Final Fantasy XIII. Think Zell, but more...and with a fuzzy inside.
  • Most Gorons particularly Darunia of The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time in the Zelda series are Boisterous Bruisers, as is Yeto the Yeti of The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess.
    • Try not to laugh when Darunia congratulates Link on a job well done by hitting him on the shoulders and knocking him to the ground.
  • There aren't many obvious Boisterous Bruisers in Super Robot Wars, but the closest you can get is probably the old, chain-ball swinging, singing Balmar general Baran Doban. Even when he's old, he's still full of hotblood and makes a lot of wise battle insights and becomes the rival of one of the mains Touma Kanou (otherwise Sanger if Touma is not the picked protagonist), indirectly training him... and later makes a Heel Face Turn. And let's not forget that his theme song is practically a theme song that ANY Boisterous Bruiser would love to sing (Ware koso waaaa... Ware koso waaaa... BARAN DOBAN! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!)
    • Excellen Browning is somewhere between being a Boisterous Bruiser and a Bottle Fairy.
    • A more accurate Boisterous Bruiser would be Ricardo Silvera of the Masou Kishin part of SRW. Apparently the oldest of the Elemental Lord Heralds, he is pretty jolly, black, pilots the tanking Elemental Lord Zamzeed, which require him to charge to the enemies (though he's more a Genius Bruiser), hangs around with Masaki like a big bro, even training an Arrogant Kung Fu Guy like Yang Long, and has a crush on Tytti. And likes making up gambles to make things exciting. His silliness aside, he's still a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, he got tragically killed in front of Tytti right when their romance has any chance to bloom, due to Taking the Bullet. And probably due to the lack of story depth during the ages of the Classic Timeline, he's largely forgotten after his replacement Mio comes around. Ricardo was Demoted to Extra.
    • A very, very rare case of a Boisterous Bruiser also being the main protagonist (well, one of two possible at least) is Rand Travis of Super Robot Wars Z. A huge mechanic who has all manner of silly expressions and mannerisms. Also tends to be extremely Hot-Blooded and, much like Baran Doban above, has an incredibly catchy theme song that lets everyone know who just showed up (well... his mecha's name at least... although it does also use his nickname of "The Crusher").
  • Captain Falcon and King Dedede in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. And, indeed, their own series.
  • Fire Emblem games often have one or two of these guys each game (generally an Axe wielder of some kind). Fargus in Fire Emblem (NPC) and Largo in Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn (NPC in Radiant Dawn) are both good examples, and both Berserkers too.
    • Other charas that fit the Boisterous Bruiser bill are Dart the Pirate (Fargus's second hand and a playable character) in Fire Emblem and Ross the Journeyman in The Sacred Stones. And yep, both of them can be promoted into Berserkers.
    • Dozla from Sacred Stones, too—another Berserker. Always laughing, being hammy, and smashing enemy skulls with his trusty axe.
    • Ross's bruiser traits are In the Blood: his father Garcia is one of these too. In Garcia's case he's the type who fought heartily but later settled down (once Ross was born and his wife Lisa died), yet when Ross joins Eirika's crew, he decides to not be less and joins in too, re-embracing his Boisterous Bruiser side. This is seen in his very badass Famous Last Words that come if he dies in the game ("I have no regrets. This was always my fate!") and his supports with Seth, Gilliam and Dozla. (Though he does use common sense once in a while, like in his supports with Neimi and Ross.)
    • Not a Berserker, but even more of a Boisterous Bruiser, would be Boyd from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. His interactions with Ike are hilarious, though not quite as much as his interactions with Mist.
    • Another non-Berserker, the Axefighter/Warrior Bartre. Especially his Rekka no Ken incarnation, where he keeps wanting a rematch with his rival and love interest Karla and his "death" quote has him swearing he'll be back to action ASAP?
    • And lest we forget FE's most triumphant female example, Vaida!

Vaida: Look at that! Bowmen as far as the eye can see! Mark! Do you have something against me? Heh, you know better than that. Let me tell you, Vaida is not your average wyvern rider! Mark! Sit back and watch me perform!

  • In Battlefield: Bad Company, Haggard fits this role as a redneck obsessed with explosions and gets his group in trouble by charging into (and thus single-handedly invading) a neutral country in pursuit of gold.
  • Pey'j from Beyond Good and Evil. He's a short Smart Guy rather than a Big Guy, but he's loud, somewhat crude, and fond of hanging around the local bar which may or may not have to do with the fact that that's where he runs his rebel organization from. Of course, give him a wrench and he can still hold his own in a fight. Not to mention that he's a Large Ham in the most literal sense possible.
  • In Fate Stay Night, Lancer becomes one, being that he's a skilled fighter, disgruntled with his cowardly master and has no interest in the Holy Grail, he just wants to have a fight with the other Servants. This is more obvious in the Unlimited Blade Works route, where he acts like the Lancer when he temporarily joins Shirou, and likes teasing. Fate/Hollow Ataraxia also adds up much more qualities of Boisterous Bruiser in him.
  • As affable as he is rough-and-ready, Heavy Weapons Expert Gus Tarballs from Jagged Alliance 2 definitely qualifies.
  • The Heavy Weapons Guy from Team Fortress 2. His official bio claims he's The Quiet One, but his appearances in the "Meet The Team" videos are much more along these lines.
    • The Soldier and Demoman are also like this. So is the Scout, or at least, he certainly likes to believe he's this. BOINK!
    • But none so much as man's man (and Mann's man) Saxton Hale, who is best described as a cross between Crocodile Dundee and Charles Atlas, in charge of a major corporation.
  • Gallows in Wild ARMs 3 fits practically every point in the description to a tee.
  • Arguably, one could call Yoshimitsu a Boisterous Bruiser. In Soul Calibur II, most of his quotes at the beginning of a match are very threatening and menacing. His victory quotes, however, shift between Cloudcuckoolander and Boisterous Bruiser.

Yoshimitsu: (very loud) I am Yoshimitsu! (much like an aside) Had enough?

Another one is where he simply laughs and claps with his feet.
  • Maniac from the Wing Commander games, especially Prophecy where he doubles as a Sergeant Rock with a big slice of ham in his jaws at all times.
  • In Chrono Trigger, Ayla is a female example of this trope.
  • Another female example: Kanna from Sakura Taisen. She often manages to be even manlier than the male protagonist.
    • She's also this in the animated series.
  • Mega from Tony Hawk's American Wasteland. An eternally shirtless oil rig worker with a license to handle any kind of heavy machinery and a tendency to ditch his responsibilities to pick up women, Mega has No Indoor Voice and is in perpetual party mode.
  • Kahn, an antagonist from Breath of Fire 4 is a lot like this after his somewhat predictable Heel Face Turn.
  • Another protagonist version of the Boisterous Bruiser: Haohmaru from Samurai Shodown. He fights, he loves it, he likes boozing off with his sake, he tends to inspire a lot of the younger generations (like Redheaded Hero Shizumaru) with his stern advices about battle. In fact, if there is trouble on the land, he's usually wandering around looking for good fights here and there, and either the Big Bad have to hunt him down themselves for their purposes, or he just approach them, ask if they're strong and fight for the sake of good fight, not quite saving the world (that's the job for the heroine Nakoruru).
  • Max of Tales of Eternia. Yeah!
  • Don't forget Moses of Tales of Legendia.
  • Street Fighter
    • E. Honda, all the way.
    • Zangief even more so.
  • Many X-Men villains became some degree of Boisterous Bruiser in the transition to the arcade game. It's almost plausible for some of the characters, such as Juggernaut or Blob, but the standout is the final boss, Magneto. Large Ham + Evil Laugh + Blind Idiot Translation = One of the greatest Boisterous Bruisers of our time.
  • Yuugi Hoshiguma from Touhou 11: Subterranean Animism plays this role alongside Bottle Fairy. She picks a fight just to "test your strength", all while drinking sake, which NOT EVEN DROP! Afterwards, she just has a big laugh about how much stronger humans are nowadays, and invites you back to party some more.
    • And before Yuugi, there was Touhou's other oni, the fight-hard-party-harder Suika Ibuki. Not surprisingly, the Reimu+Suika encounter with Yuugi mentions that they used to be best friends.
  • Bang Shishigami in BlazBlue, even when he's not the token Big Guy. To sum it up, he's a Highly-Visible Ninja who fights for justice... served with A VERY BIG HAM and Hot-Blooded passion. Oh, and he also hits on Litchi Faye Ling (AKA Boobie Lady) despite his age and his inability to win her heart is just one of the factors why Hilarity Ensues whenever he steps his foot on the ground... nobody took him seriously. But even that's not enough to put down his burning passion of justice.
    • Taokaka and Makoto are both examples of female Boisterous Bruisers
  • Pangya's Uncle Bob. A retired burly policeman who tends to spout out about 'The power of of his heart' and likes to let out hearty laughs here and there... and LOVES fried chicken, to the point of humorously abusing his caddie Lola to get fried chicken. Oh and he's proposing Cecilia and is VERY FORWARD about it.
  • A villainous example is Yashiro Nanakase from The King of Fighters. In the side of good we have Ralf Jones, Joe Higashi, Tizoc/Griffon Mask, and Raiden/Big Bear after his Heel Face Turn.
  • Kiesha Phillips of Backyard Sports.
  • Paul Phoenix from Tekken grows into one, especially after the Time Skip whereas he starts developing a big, hearty attitude of 'Being the Toughest Guy in the Universe'. It helps that he's kinda idiotic and is quite the ham, especially when he's using his deathfist.

"Nothing like a good work out!"
"No pain, NO GAIN!"
"Any time! Any place! BRING IT ON, YA ALIENS!!!"

HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW!?!?!?!

  • Ulthane the Old One in Darksiders. His idea of getting to know someone involves a brutal rumble—one in which the BFS is completely useless and War needs to use his Super Mode just to hurt him. Then he starts an impromptu contest of "Whack-an-Angel" with War using the remnants of Heaven's forces trying to kill War. That said, Ulthane isn't nearly as simple-minded as a typical Boisterous Bruiser: he's one of the conspirators behind the premature Apocalypse and he is the Ultimate Blacksmith that forged the Infinity+1 Sword of Plot Advancement used to destroy six of the Seven Seals.
  • Harvest Moon: Grand Bazaar has two, in the forms of town mayor Felix and carpenter Wilbur.
  • In Mana Khemia, Flay pretty much exemplifies this trope.
  • Francis from Left 4 Dead. He treats the Zombie Apocalypse as the world's biggest bar fight.
  • Bartolomeo d'Alviano in Assassin's Creed 2.

Web Comics

  • Megatokyo: Largo's playing style and avatar in the Endgames universe. Tireless in his fighting of "teh 3vil" and pursuit of b33r. Irritating to his long-suffering friend. Since games and reality are not that different to him, it carries over to his interactions with flesh-and-blood people, especially Miho.
    • And in a tribute to Baldur's Gate, his conscience is a hamster named "Boo". Boo tries to give him good advice, but Largo mostly misinterprets it.
  • Rumisiel from Misfile fits this trope. He's a likeable drunken goof who got kicked out of Heaven for smoking pot while on duty and now spends most of his time sleeping on Ash's couch and trying to rack up karma points to get back in. Despite his usual drunken apathetic state, when he gives out advice on relationships he tends to be right and has displayed at least above average intelligence when circumstances have called for it. Not to mention has had at least three Crowning Moments of Awesome.
  • Girl Genius gives us:
    • The Jägerkin. They're an entire race of Boisterous Bruisers! Well, except for Vole, and he doesn't count—they kicked him out.
    • Othar Tryggvassen, GENTLEMAN ADVENTURER!!! And yes, the all-caps are a must.
    • Zeetha, in a strange way....
  • Felucca and Tengu from Earthsong.
  • Rocko Sasquatch from The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob.
  • Yeagar from Nodwick likes to think he's his group's resident Boisterous Bruiser. And to be fair, he is probably rather fun to get along with... unless you happen to be a henchman.
  • A female example, Pella from Looking for Group is introduced standing behind a door as a main character smashes it into pieces. She has barely said hello before punctuating a joke by cutting off another character's hand, which he finds as amusing as her. More than anyone else, she always faces battle with a smile on her face and a song on her lips. Never an appropriate song, mind. At the current stage of the comic she has yet to find a problem she can't solve with sufficient violence. In quiet times she likes to use Richard as target practice.
  • Order of the Stick's version of Thor is like this (so, pretty much the same as in the old myths).
  • Played straight with Pauline, but subverted with Lenny in Our Little Adventure.
  • Another female example: Illyra from Rumors of War mixes seduction and magic to kick ass and take names.
  • A good chunk of Dubious Company's Cast can fit in here, but special nods go to Walter (one of the leads) who is a pirate, who can fly, and his flying pirate ships is powered by the crew's alcoholic signature. Captain Barry also counts, except he hasn't appeared for a while and never allied with them.
  • Damon Chisolm definitely fits this role at the beginning of The Wandering Ones, but seems to be growing out of it as time goes on.
  • Guilded Age: Frigg, yet another female example.
  • In Impure Blood, Elnor is another female example, fond of drink and fights and guys.


Web Original

Von Kaiser: My name is Von Kaiser -- ze German Steel Machine. They call me "Ze Steel Machine" because it is STEEL! Steel in ze heart! Steel in ze arms! STEEL IN ZE HEAD!!


Western Animation

  • Pictured above: The version of AQUAMAN in Batman the Brave And The Bold. His voice has been known to spontaneously develop an echo. Outrageous!
  • Wolf Bronsky from the vastly underrated Exo Squad.
  • Monterrey Jack of Disney's Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers.
  • Buck Tuddrussel from Time Squad is a textbook example. It's GO TIME!
  • The Scotsman from Samurai Jack.
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1987':' Arnold "Casey" Jones, whose voice is even goofy. Goongala!!
  • G.I. Joe
    • Rock n' Roll. A Heavy Metal bassist and surfer turned machine gunner, he didn't last long in the regular army because the dress code really grated on him. They made him wear a shirt.
    • Bazooka, too. His hard-partying ways got the best of him, and in the comics, when the GI Joe team was brought back together, he was the only one who couldn't pass the physical requirements because he'd become kind of really fat.
    • Gung Ho, one of the toughest and most badass of he Joes, has this reputation as well. Of course, he's Cajun.
    • And Wild Bill. Yeeeeeeee-HAAAAAAAA!
    • We'll pretend that Roadblock's omission was due to him gettin' busy in the kitchen!
  • Lago from Captain Simian and The Space Monkeys is a Space Pirate captain who originally wanted to betray the Primate Avengers but later switched to their side. He is also a Large Ham who speaks in a loud, faux Italian/Spanish accent.
  • Odd Della Robbia of Code Lyoko is a teenage version of this trope. He's too young to drink, but he gets the eating, womanizing, battle-happy and fun-loving elements down pat.
  • Herry from Class of the Titans. (Well, he is a descedent of Hercules.)
  • Zoolie from The Pirates of Dark Water.
  • Garrett Miller of Extreme Ghostbusters may be the first paraplegic example.
  • Joe Swanson from Family Guy being the second, then.
  • T-Bone/Chance Furlong from Swat Kats.
  • Princess Bula from ReBoot is a female example of this trope.
  • If Rath is any indication, then the Appoplexians from Ben 10 Alien Force is an entire race of Boisterous Bruisers, who talk like Randy "Macho Man" Savage!
  • Ben 10: Ultimate Alien just loves this trope. We have Kevin Levin, Ben 10,000, Cooper Daniels...
    • Ben is pretty much this at any any age, especially when he first got the Omnitrix and his default strategies seem to be Attack! Attack! Attack! and You Fight Like a Cow. Part of his Character Development is learning when to be smart about his battles, though he still loves fighting bad guys and telling them how much they suck compared to him.
  • Captain Planet and the Planeteers
    • Captain Planet himself. The guy loves to make (bad) puns and laugh while fighting pollution!
    • And Wheeler too, as the most Hot-Blooded of the group.
  • The three mice from Biker Mice From Mars, though Vinnie was the most boisterous.
  • Codename: Kids Next Door
    • Numbuh 4.
    • Moosk from episode "K.N.O.T."
  • Hawkgirl in Justice League especially in the Christmas episode "Comfort and Joy".
  • In Transformers, Sideswipe is described as being nicer than his brother Sunstreaker, but every bit as fight-happy.
  • Ben Packer on Bureau of Alien Detectors, full stop.
  • The Big Knights: "Sir Boris, finest swordsman in the world, and his brother Sir Morris, not the finest swordsman in the world, but the most enthusiastic!" Their approach to more or less any problem is shouting and smashing things.
  • And no list of outrageous fighters would be complete without a mention of Cyborg from Teen Titans. Say it with us, now... "BOOYAH!"
  • Air specialist Ace McCloud from Centurions.
  • Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic manages to pull this off while being an adorable pegasus. Loud, obnoxious, lazy and possessed of an enormous ego, give her a target or a threat to her friends and she will lay right into it with enthusiastic violence and undeniable courage. She tends to give everyone a hard time, especially if she perceives you as an "egghead" or wimp, but accepting her insults and hyper competitive behaviour with dignity and good humor will win you a friend who would protect you with her life.
  • Captain Silver from Treasure Planet, an alien of the Ursid race, certainly counts. He's huge, built like a bear with a heavy accent, enormous hands, is always jolly and jovial until he reveals himself as a pirate and angrily attacks Jim, Doppler and Amelia with his crew, but then turns back to his kind self after saving Jim out of fatherly love and loves food, in fact he is the ship's cook, and at one point is seen regaling the rest of the crew with stories over tankards of drink, enthusiastically acting out parts of it and using his mechanical arm to provide shadow puppets of the events. He can certainly hold his own in a fight as well, showing a mere fraction of his strength in nearly crushing the spider-alien Scroop's claw when he threatened Jim, and when threatened by a black hole, he is seen with Jim, using his own body to not only anchor Jim to the ship better, but to shield him as well.
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender: Toph Beifong is a unique example, in that she's a prepubescent girl. Heck, when she found out that the play chronicling their adventures was portraying her as a burly man who sees by screaming, she was ecstatic.
    • THE BOULDER makes offense at not being included in this list despite being a Captain Ersatz of The Rock, and he'll show it by burying you UNER A ROCKALANCHE!
    • In Sequel Series The Legend of Korra this is the demeanor of new Avatar Korra, who the creators designed to be as unlike her Martial Pacifist predecessor Aang as possible. She's basically the Water Tribe's answer to Toph...with all four elements at her disposal.


Real Life

  • Shaquille O'Neal
  • Brian Blessed is a real life Boisterous Bruiser. Aside from being such a wild fun-loving self-confessed Yeti, he is also a 5th dan black belt and former junior boxing champion.
  • The aforementioned Paul Sorvino could be thought of as a Latin-American BRIAN BLESSED.
  • Certain Caribbean pirates. Particularly Bart Roberts.
  • Andre the Giant.
  • Nikita Khrushchev (possibly).
  • Toblerone chocolate with its high nougat to chocolate concentration, huge size, stab-you-in-the-palate mountainous shape and distinctive prism packaging. If chocolate were people, it would be an obscure Italian Boisterous Bruiser appearing on a cheap Sci-Fi MST3K movie.
  • Sir Ron LionHeart on YouTube sounds like the textbook example of this in his videos. He's so infectiously enthusiastic, you can't not smile while listening to him. Just read the comments on his videos.
  • President Theodore Roosevelt was a bully example of this trope!
    • Especially in More Information Than You Require, which throws in a handful of Memetic Badass.
    • Isn't he the guy that quoted "Speak softly and carry a big stick".
    • T.R. gave a speech after being shot in the chest. A long speech. From memory. Because the paper he'd written it down on was covered in his own blood. He opened by cracking a joke about having been shot.
  • Gary Busey
  • Interestingly, Liu Bang, who founded the Han Dynasty of China was one of these, although Zhang Fei is more often remembered to be one.
  • Mickey Rourke, as mentioned above.
  • King Henry VIII (the one with the six wives) was said to be one of these. (To his friends, at least. To his enemies or to anyone whom he suspected of betraying him, he could be a total murderous bastard.) Henry's Boisterous Bruiser aspect often gets played up in portrayals of him, notably the version of him played by Charles Laughton in The Private Life of Henry VIII.
  • Another English king, Charles II, also fits the trope: called the "Merry Monarch," Charles brought back color and, shall we say, joie de vivre back to England after years of stern Puritan rule. He loved a good joke (he's one of Britain's snarkier monarchs) and a good drink, had an obscene number of mistresses, and was often rumored to have liaisons with men, as well (though he still had a soft spot for his wife Queen Catherine, standing by her side when she came under fire and when she became an Ill Girl). He also enjoyed the theater (something else the Puritans had banned), and the Restoration Comedy dates from the first decade or so of his reign.
  • Man, fucking Charlemagne. He was a giant by any standard of his day, a renowned warrior as much as a ruler, and oh yeah, he was so informal that when he wasn't holding court with more or less anyone willing to drink and eat with him, he was insisting they join him while he bathed so the festivities wouldn't be unduly interrupted. He was pretty much the least formal king ever.
  • Oliver Reed. His whole career he had a reputation as a hard-drinking hell raiser who bore scars on his face from a bar fight in 1962. He died of a heart attack at age 61 after a night of hard drinking in which he consumed 3 bottles of rum and beat 5 sailors at arm wrestling.
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