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{{trope}}
[[File:Precocious platelets.jpeg|400px|thumb|link= Cells at Work!|<div style="text-align: center;">Heave-Ho! Heave-Ho!</div>]]
This kid is barely past
Often his family situation is problematic, although he may have a [[Cool Big Sis|big sister]] or [[Big Brother Mentor|brother]] he respects and admires. Said sibling may not appear (letting the audience take that role) and the '''Adorably Precocious Child''' can attach to the closest adult who lets
▲This kid is barely past puberty -- if that old -- but acts as if always preoccupied with responsibility. He (or she) works hard at whatever he does and treats things seriously, but every once in a while he does indeed act like a kid (and hates the subsequent teasing). Usually not taken too seriously by anyone and hates being treated like a kid by adults, even if they secretly like the attention.
Compare [[Cheerful Child]], [[Innocent Prodigy]], and [[Wise Beyond Their Years]]. Sometimes also a [[Token
▲Often his family situation is problematic, although he may have a [[Cool Big Sis|big sister]] or [[Big Brother Mentor|brother]] he respects and admires. Said sibling may not appear (letting the audience take that role) and the Adorably Precocious Child can attach to the closest adult who lets him -- this is especially common if he's also a [[Mouthy Kid]]. Sometimes this works in reverse, and the adult character may have to defend himself against [[Shotacon|unwholesome]] [[Lolicon|comments]] by other characters by insisting they're [[Like Brother and Sister]], or, alternately, [[Older Than They Look]]. If they grow up, they're likely to become hot, especially if they had a [[Hot Dad]] or [[Hot Mom]], due to the [[Generation Xerox]] effect.
▲Compare [[Cheerful Child]], [[Innocent Prodigy]], and [[Wise Beyond Their Years]]. Sometimes also a [[Token Mini-Moe]].
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* The platelets from ''[[Cells at Work!]]'' are typically depicted this way, as shown in this page's image. Of course they are actually anthropomorphized human cells (specifically platelets).
* Former [[Trope Namer]] Shotaro Kaneda from ''[[Gigantor]]'', or, as he's known in the United States, Jimmy Sparks, so embodies this trope that he's the
* ''[[
* Momiji Sohma in ''[[Fruits Basket]]'', who makes his other family members jealous because his cute appearance can manipulate girls. [[Older Than They Look|Older than he looks]].
** His cousin Hiro might also count, being an actual middle schooler (Momiji is a high-schooler who looks like a middle schooler) who is clearly much more responsible than his mother and gets extremely offended any time he thinks someone is treating him like a child.
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* Negi of ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' (pictured above) was the basic polite version earlier on in the manga, while Kotaro Inugami is more of a [[Mouthy Kid]]. Both of them, however, are extremely capable on their own. Due to [[Genre Shift]] and liberal use of magical age-up pills, Negi has this trope more or less [[Break the Cutie|beaten out of him]] by various physical and emotional trauma by the midpoint of the story, although he hasn't been broken of the habit entirely.
* ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'': Yahiko. Turns into more of a [[Cute Bruiser]] by the end of the series, to the point that he gets his own sakabato and a lot more responsibility in the epilogue.
* Mamoru Shimesu in ''[[Phantom Quest Corp]]''. He actually runs the company, the contacts, the finances, etc. while his boss Ayaka spends their funds on booze. He has a very stressful job.
* Though he's 13 (and then 14), Riku from ''[[Blood
* Hitsugaya Toshirou of ''[[
* Jim Hawkings in ''[[Outlaw Star]]'', who is clearly the more mature of the group between him and his "aniki" Gene.
* ''[[Angel Sanctuary]]'' has Metatron as this. Yes, [[The Bible
* Naota from ''[[FLCL]]'', an entire ''series'' based around him trying to act adult (to be a good [[Replacement Goldfish]] for his big brother) and being mocked for lapsing into childish behavior.
* Shingo Tsukino from ''[[Sailor Moon]]'' is like this (when he's not slipping into [[Annoying Younger Sibling]] mode). He's highly intelligent, more mature than his sister, and manages to charm quite a few ladies over the course of the series (both older and younger than him).
* Czeslaw Meyer of ''[[
* In ''[[D.N.Angel]]'', there's the main character, Daisuke, and his rival, [[Troubled but Cute]] Satoshi. Daisuke acts closer to the typical version, whereas Satoshi is a [[Wise Beyond Their Years|Wise Beyond His Years]] college graduate (despite being only 14).
* ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena|Revolutionary Girl Utena's]]'' Mitsuru Tsuwabuki, who is constantly bending to Nanami's every whim and taking care of her business, takes the desire to be treated like an adult to extremes - {{spoiler|his rants during the Mikage Seminar and his duel with Utena border on the [[Ax Crazy]]. "I want to become an adult and wreck the whole world! Wreck it!" "You become an adult by destroying other adults!" Or something to that effect.}}
* 13-year-old Wataru from ''[[
** If Hayate wasn't just a bit too old to qualify, he would probably be the poster-child of this trope. The levels of [[Moe]] that boy radiates are ''staggering''.
* Usso Evin in ''[[Mobile Suit Victory Gundam
* Mokuba Kaiba from the (second) ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' anime. A clear case of [[Bowdlerization]], since in the original manga he qualifies more as an [[Enfant Terrible]] (but responsible, for that). His big sister is a big brother.
* Boo from ''[[Now and Then, Here
* ''[[Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei]]'' has Majiru, Nozomu's nephew, who looks to be around 7-9 and sorta looks like a mini version of Nozomu. A bit snarky/mouthy, but still cute. He's not actually responsible for anything, but he acts very mature and sophisticated for his age. And he & [[Hikikomori|Kiri Komori]] seem to be developing [[Shotacon|feelings for each other]].
* Shippo in ''[[
* ''[[Black Butler]]'': Ciel Phantomhive is a more dark take on the trope. The reason he acts serious and mature is the trauma he endured through losing his parents, and being kidnapped and tortured by cultists. He's now a driven, if jaded, Earl and owner of his own toy and candy company while he searches for the culprits in said torture.
* Sui Takishima, from [[Special A]]. Seeing as his big brother is basically perfect, it takes some persuasion by Hikari before Sui decides to actually do something. Once he ''does'', however, he's almost as stuck up as Kei.
* ''[[
* Makoto from ''[[Wandering Son]]'' is only around 9 at the start of the story but is remarkably mature for his age, even compared to the other characters.
* 11-year old Takashi from ''[[
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[
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* The trope goes at least as far back to the detective novels of Edogawa Rampo (1894-1965, real name Hirai Tarou), whose protagonist Kogoro Akechi was frequently aided by the "junior detective" Yoshio Kobayashi; this makes it [[Older Than Television]]. According to Wikipedia: "Kobayashi was written as a perfect young teenager who, some might say, had a [[Ho Yay|strong 'dependency']] on Mr. Akechi. Every time he appeared, he was either worried about Akechi's well-being or helping Akechi set the trap for criminals. On the numerous occasions that the boy was captured, Akechi swooped in for a timely rescue."
* Rare Western literature example - Eoin Colfer's book ''The Supernaturalists'' involved a 'kid' called Ditto who was [[Really Seven Hundred Years Old]] - okay, in his early twenties - but as he was a naturally-immature adult he occasionally cracked.
** Eoin Colfer also brings us [[
* Markl from the movie of ''[[
** Better yet, {{spoiler|Howl's child disguise}} in the new sequel, ''House of Many Ways'', fits this trope to a tee, as ''not only'' does he speak with an exaggerated lisp, but also is described to be [[Cheerful Child|ultimately cherubic with golden curls, adorable puppy-fat, and a lot of lace]]. It's even more ridiculous when {{spoiler|his reasoning for adopting a jailbait disguise is simply because he had a horrid childhood (or so he says, Sophie immediately denounces him as a liar) and he has every right to relive being six years old... only prettier.}} But {{spoiler|because it is only a ruse}}, he manages to surprise the main character, Charmain, into speechlessness when he drops all pretenses and acts very adult and down-to-business.
* Olver from ''[[
* Otto in ''[[Someone Else's War
▲== Live Action TV ==
* Flynn Jones of ''[[Shake It Up]]''. He handwaves that he's "the only responsible person around here", and even got a model to like him, saying he's adorable.
* Doctor Sweets of ''[[Bones]]'' definitely qualifies. He's the youngest member of the team and cannot get himself taken seriously because of it, tends to lapse into [[Sophisticated As Hell]] mid psych-babble, looks up to the two main characters as [[Parental Substitute
== [[Video Games]] ==
* ''[[
** Taro of ''[[Disgaea 2
** There's also Emizel in ''[[Disgaea 4:
* Ken Amada from ''[[Persona 3]]'' seems like a typical one of these at first. He acts unusually mature and serious, and isn't taken all that seriously by the older party members. However, it's later revealed that {{spoiler|he joined SEES so he could exact revenge on his mother's killer}}.
* Culotte of ''[[
* Jr. from the ''[[
* ''[[Fire Emblem]]'':
** Rolf from ''[[Fire Emblem]]'' certainly qualifies often putting a tough front despite being very sensitive and sweet.
** Sothe qualifies once we learn his backstory: he's been looking after and protect Micaih for years despite being younger than her.
* Genis from ''[[
* The professor's boy assistant Luke Triton from ''[[Professor Layton]].'' Acts mature? Check. Isn't always taken seriously? Check. Played for cute? So very much check.
* Shinra from ''[[Final Fantasy X
* Pierre from ''[[Harvest Moon]]'' would be an almost archetypal example, between his cute, childish appearance, and his mature, sophisticated behavior... Except for that fact that no-one ever fails to take him seriously, even though he looks younger than every other character that's ''not'' explicitly a small child. Making this weirder, he's also an [[Expy]] for an especially grotesque [[Gonk]].
* Alfred, the adorable younger brother to Maya and a member of the rival gang of Drifters in ''[[Wild
* Hope of ''[[
* Riku from ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' was extremely perceptive and insightful at five years old, able to immediately spot an off-worlder and give Sora outstanding advice about a complicated issue.
* Bugsy from [[
* Another adorable and confusing nerd is Rief from ''[[Golden Sun
** Though [[They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character|she didn't get much screentime or character development]], [[Token
** Thirty years prior to them in ''[[
* Caillou from [[Recettear]] is a good example of this trope. He's a powerful mage, running a serious investigation, but inside he's still just a kid who can't resist candy.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Brainiac 5 in the ''[[Legion of Super
* Tricks from ''[[Scruff]]'' is a [[Talking Animal]] version of this trope, being a young Border Collie pup with an easygoing, smart, modest but playful personality.
* The titular character of ''[[Hey Arnold!]]'' OWNS this trope. Acts as if he's preocupied with responsiblity, once had a crush on an older girl (well, she was only two grades ahead), and one of the most adorable kids on the show.
* Flip Chan in ''[[The Amazing Chan and The Chan Clan]]''. He acts responsible for Mimi, Nancy and Scooter when they're out on the case, and is quite a cute kid.
** Mimi and Scooter are no slouches in the cute department, either. Mimi usually pushes her authority on Scooter, who wants to launch head on into the episode's unsolved crime.
* Yugo from ''[[
* Most of the male KND Operatives in ''[[Codename
* The titular characters of ''[[
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