A popular character
archetype /
genre in
anime, the perfect girlfriend is usually an incredibly beautiful girl with a pure heart, a superb intelligence, a perfect body, and a heartfelt wish to find a nice, realiable guy that she can depend on.
The perfect girlfriend is almost invariably the 2nd most important character in the series, the main character being her (presumably) future boyfriend. There are also a number of sidekicks, most of them other girls who can almost, but not quite measure up to P.G., and a few other guys who watch out for her and pester the main character.
Perfect girlfriends are found popular anime like Chobits, Gatekeepers, Spiral, Love Hina, Mahoromatic, Ranma½ and Saikano to mention a few. Often the series end with the main characters (one of them being the P.G.) hooking up or going their separate ways, and most of the plot twists in between involve some sort of hindrance to their mutual happiness, some character development and some social drama. The characters may also have a mysterious past or other terrible secret.
This genre or archetype has naturally sparked a lot of controversy, because some women find it degrading that a woman should be so dependant on a man. However, some anime, like Angelic layer or (wearing flame-proof pants) Neon Genesis Evangelion, feture a Perfect Girlfriend as a powerful main character, placing even more emphasis on the personal integrity of said P.G. Popular gay anime Gravitation even makes the Perfect Girlfriend a guy.